| Whitehorse Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Spray River Group |
| Sub-units | Winnifred Member Brewster Limestone Olympus Sandstone Lentil Starlight Evaporite Member |
| Underlies | Fernie Formation |
| Overlies | Sulphur Mountain Formation |
| Thickness | Up to 500 metres (1,640 ft)[1] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Limestone, dolomite |
| Other | Sandstone, gypsum |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 52°59′5″N 117°20′48″W / 52.98472°N 117.34667°W |
| Region |  Alberta British Columbia |
| Country |  Canada |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Whitehorse Creek |
| Named by | P.S. Warren[2] |
| Year defined | 1945 |
The Whitehorse Formation is a geologic formation of Late Triassic age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in western Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. It was first described as a member of the Spray River Formation by P.S. Warren in 1945,[2] who named it for Whitehorse Creek, a tributary of the McLeod River south of Cadomin, Alberta. It was later raised to formation status.[3]
Marine fossils from the Late Triassic epoch including crinoids, brachiopods, bivalves, and gastropods, have been found in the Whitehorse Formation.[3][4]
- ^ Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN 0-920230-23-7.
- ^ a b Warren, P.S. 1945. Triassic faunas in the Canadian Rockies. American Journal of Science, vol. 243, no. 9, p. 480-491; doi: 2475/ajs.243.9.480.
- ^ a b Gibson, D.W. 1974. Triassic rocks of the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 230, 65 p.
- ^ Gibson, D.W. and Edwards, D.E. 1990. An overview of Triassic stratigraphy and depositional environments in the Rocky Mountain Foothills and Western Interior Plains, Peace River Arch area, northeastern British Columbia. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, vol. 38A, p. 146-158.