| Prairie Evaporite Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
_3.jpg) Blue halite from the Prairie Evaporite Formation | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Elk Point Group |
| Sub-units | Up to 6 members |
| Underlies | Watt Mountain Formation and Dawson Bay Formation |
| Overlies | Keg River Formation and Winnipegosis Formation |
| Thickness | Up to 300 metres (980 ft)[1] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Halite, anhydrite |
| Other | dolomite, mudstone |
| Location | |
| Region |  Alberta  Saskatchewan Manitoba  North Dakota Montana |
| Country |  Canada  United States |
| Type section | |
| Named by | A.D. Baillie (1953)[2] |
The Prairie Evaporite Formation, also known as the Prairie Formation, is a geologic formation of Middle Devonian (Givetian) age that consists primarily of halite (rock salt) and other evaporite minerals. It is present beneath the plains of northern and eastern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba in Canada,[3] and it extends into northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana in the United States.[4]
The formation is a major source of potash, most of which is used for fertilizer production.[5][6] Salt is also produced from the formation,[7] and solution caverns are created in its thick salt beds for natural gas storage.[8]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Grobewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Bailliewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I. (compilers). Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Geological Survey (1994). "The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Chapter 10: Devonian Elk Point Group of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin". Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Kruger, N. North Dakota Geological Survey, Report of Investigations No. 113 (2014). "The potash members of the Prairie Formation in North Dakota" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-12-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Holter, M.E. 1969. The Middle Devonian Prairie Evaporite of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Department of Mineral Resources, Report No. 123.
- ^ Burton, J. University of Regina and Canadian Plains Research Center (2007). "Potash industry". Retrieved 2015-12-30.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Harperwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Crossleywas invoked but never defined (see the help page).