VOLUME 8 NOVEMBER, 1960 NUMBER 11 JOURNAL of the ALBERTA SOCIETY of PETROLEUM GEOLOGISTS

THE EDMONTON FORMATION1 J. R. OWER California Standard Co., Calgary

The writer discusses the EdmontoABnS TfRoArCmT ation of Central Alberta from field swdtawhenerercmidlotlt i oueotngrlhon ehsgsd to isruuavo tntpiidn ep edtteth.hsrh meeie t oRiasinrnettd eteoaLr Damfnaeievscdee eri. ,a m at NeeTmo mahrbraeterhe akrc .seo S,rn aIttsthib kneehau tatilwtcsoy ehw aeeo enwfts htati Lnhcf aekoan nuncKrede ns b eseAae inhotnhdifgl a l1 bsPF1 ar0otseu0cx-f a Lft o Haz Rnio1lic7nvle0see 0- P rs(fsieMe,ed erieatrmm nead ebin nnedf trs r a toDghimes)e athnearea. T henex otBretnhes.ai ropnTa whoe f mstahtrare itniBgere aasprhphaaliwce -icBose nrlteliypn ulRaitciyve edor f b cytho Een tdaEmcdto mniosto nmnt oacnino-Btnateiilnnleyend Rt aitlhv resore udcgoihmnoteuantct tst hateso ~bEpbrdeeoTdm shba oaenb nb weltyoanr eninra tgeetufrhos l uarcltmorhts nae cdt iliiPousna cnds eoaksn ba fepstofohlrooemorwr eei s tyapidsnr e dbonpesgototrsow einetseievsoe iinnvdi n ee not hafctn ereut heontefacw saiotrtPe riroaeflnsogyk ur almdopaifar or tetodicho itefnifo fosenu rr.pmeb pnuaettt,rii omanlio f.e s rtio tTs Ehioedexnmri eso otfsn m,tt haoieynt INTRODUCTION The paper was first read to the Alberta Society of Petroleum Geologists in April, 1949. It was a result of work done for the California Standard Company along the North Saskatchewan River in 1947, along the Red Deer River in 1948, and subsurface studies of oil wells in the area between the two rivers in the winter of 1948-49. Subsequent to the reading of this paper, the writer did a survey of the Athabasca River and some notes on sections along that river are included in this revision. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the stratigraphy of the Edmonton formation in Central Alberta and to correlate the surface sections with sub- surface sections. V1Roel.p 2u,b Nlios.h 1ed (,M baryc hp, e1r9m5i8s)s, iopnp,. 3f-r1o1m. the Edmonton Geological Society Quarterly,

309 310

PREW0US r~VZSTIGATIONS The term " " Edmonton" " was first used by Selwyn (1874) in referring to the coal bearing strata outcropping around Edmonton City. Tyrrell (1886) introduced the term as a formational name, defining and describing the forma- tion as exposed along the Red Deer River. Here, Tyrrell included all the continental coal-bearing beds lying above the marine Bearpaw shale to the highest seam observed, a seam mined near Ardley. Tyrrell then worked the North Saskatchewan River and correlated the sec- tion with the Red Deer River section He named the beds overlying his Edmonton formation "Paskapoo. " The beds immediately above the Ardley seam were placed in his Paskapoo which was considered to be early Tertiary in age, while the Edmonton beds, with a known dinosaurian fauna, were considered to be Cretaceous. Since Tyrrell's time, the Red Deer River section has been the subject of much geological study, both because of the economic value of the coal and because of the remarkable dinosaurian fauna. The earlier workers includo Barnum Brown, in 1911-14, and J. A. Allan, in 1917-21. J. O. G. Sanderson made detailed studies in 1924 and 1925, and the results of Allan and Sanderson 's work were published in 1945 as the " "G Geology of the Red Deer and Rosebud Sheets ." Allan and Sanderson considered that there was an erosional discon- formity between the Edmonton and Paskapoo formations and included in the Edmonton formation beds formerly placed in the Paskapoo. Other workers include R. L. Rutherford, in 1935-39, and, more recently, C. M. Sternberg, in 1947-48, who made additional studies of the dinosaurian fauna. The more scattered sections along the North Saskatchewan have not been studied in as much detail. Among the workers may be mentioned MacEvoy (1898) and Dowling (1910) .

GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND DMSIONS OF THE EDMONTON FORMATION The Edmonton formation has been found to vary in thickness from 1100 feet at the south end of the area under discussion to 1700 feet in the northern part of the area. The writer has divided the Edmonton formation into five members on the basis of lithology as shown in Table I. These five members can be recognized in surface sections and in well logs throughout the entire area (Fig- ureAMwhlelIminalne1) b ectahronsre. dr D eloS,la awtCnien drag enp rdasw oritntht heo( f1u t9phM4ep5 ee)mp,r brMepevaer irmoBtu boseaf rn dBdEi vaMiirss eieem oqenuqb iueovirfv a Alaet lhneaentr tet oEt o edt qhmtuheoeiivnr Ma tUoleinpdn pdt feltoeror mEEtdhdamemt ioLoonnonttw oobneny,r, Edmonton.

SURFACE SECTIO~N ALOIXTG THE RED DEER RIVER The magnificent exposures along the Red Deer River well deserve to be considered the type section of the Edmonton formation. For more than 70 miles, from Ardley at the north end to Drumheller and East Coulee at the south end, the upper part and then successively lower beds may be seen in a series of almost continuous exposures. Up to 300 feet of section may be exposed in any one outcrop. These exposures give an excellent opportunity to make good correlations and study lateral variations within the formation. The writer studied the upper part of the formation in detail, but only quickly examined a few sections in the lower part of the formation. In the composite columnar section presented, the detailed stratigraphy of Member A is taken from Allan and Sanderson, while the remainder is from the writer's observations. 311

TABLE I EDMONTON FORMATION IN RED DEER RIVER AND NORTH SASKATCHEWAN RIVER AREAS MEMBER LITHOLOGY THICKNESS (feet) E pshNsgbreheiemoapearrlet vpiehlnyeascer ;o r, nb crtneotoo afnai tiffltnion aenscnsone i eir ettTaihscmqrte:uoi s crasD.ne rhr tuczaafolloaStl easocoe irpgues,rws este h, ise tdeanchrsin nonatond hloststfe- taaaaoaiucgnnnvrirdieyeine-ssa ypg;n: l ee spconLflpovasiogeaeeulhwsrn r tselalayeros i afanmp 'nb asdesrbasn;tyl t,tto om-annpbeienaetmsddilc;e--s 185-400? DC BKccncwhoeoehnnnnaeietrttwtaaeeo ihian tninnoislt iilpannRsicn;g gi d vots eupgfeatfrruvefter na epybr zloaaihsswseln heheah a cv:itotl yeuea s Bfl sf claasaanclecaenadkydom s u ts tsosohhan aoslehltrb -ieaa zarltoonea wnd tnsao-dn;pnp ed .obbp neept nehnNttrioon onn rsiittattuihinfcc df S scbsatloahsaknnaylaedeetssy,- 720-01-8500 B 'AcL,bboeriagnrdndshthai ts nio nogfs rco eseeDfar nalr,tf ut-oosmaspsonshidme li-lpedflweieenrphroop ausemtsa r ub arersilinaaintmnneod e nssitftttoaoionuncngne eusa;; eh a,o lmnec soeR nmwesbdiitse htrD in leegenc rsoo enfRs t iatavihnneidnsr 200-300 A Gcprcaeoebrpreapletellpaiy yo ce cnaraaisn nrng bfddeo c l counsbpanamrarcodbmeetwhooroinnluync as ;icb nsmeeganonan uuttdBstmosne etesrioahtr;rnio acepuwl aseshsw;; hit tcaiehsorl hoeaiacanlsnkl s deetsc oneolnsain gemtrha astib npagiinandrdneglsydy catsoobann eldntds- ioasdcr neotdohrn-f--, 420-900 Member A is well exposed along the Red Deer River from East Coulee to Morrin Ferry. Its thickness is 450 feet and the general lithology is shown in the table. The most notable feature of this member is the larger number of Ascoeladllai mns.e enatmTs.sh e, tTmhheee m msbheoarsl etc sop naesrreiss itsdst,ue nlaltp ianro tfc fowrloohrmi,c mht haehi nacvloyea lbb sreeoeawnm nsn ,uo rmo fbg ebrreeeynd,t o ananindtdi ca rtteer raurcesesudtar liblayly tdthhaeicr kkuennred setshr laoynfi ntfghiof tsBye e afeirnpe ta.t hwe Tbohyve e ar slaywniden gll isMd etevrmaelnbosepiret idoB n.b alas Matloe mstabhneedr , Aunw dhisei rcslhye pinmagraa ytB eredea arcfprhao wma shales and interdigitation is common. Member B is exposed from the Morrin Ferry north to Twp. 36, a distance of some 35 miles, as well as in the coulees of side creeks north of Morrin Ferry. It is about 200 feet thick in Twp. 39 but thickens to 260 feet in Twp. 31. It is barren of coal and consists mainly of pale green shales and siltstones. Sand- stones are not as prevalent and are finer than those in Member A. South of Morrin Ferry, in Twp. 31, Member B contains a thin bed or bed's of fossiliferous limestone named the Drumheller marine tongue by Allan and Sanderson (1945) It is about 10 to 110 feet from the top of the member tOinhnand, icetkh whereo ers beupopatprhabest etsre hdebldeveloped, el bibnyeg d 3sp0 rmfeadeeyotconsists m boei fna absnshtealnylteof two .. CoTrhbieclimestone ublaan dasn dc oinntbands aitnh e nulomweerroeach umsa isnhleylabout lsO, sthtroesae.3 feet The Drumheller marine tongue is localized south of Twp. 31, and north of this it was seen in only one locality, a coulee in Lsd. 16, Sec. 31, Twp. 32, Rge. 28 W. 4 Mer. Member B contains the majority of the dinosaur remains of the Edmonton formation. 312 chMareacmtbeerirz eCd ibs ya thteh inp rmeveamlebnecr,e voef ryco sailm ailnadr dina rkli thcoarlobgoyn atcoe oMuse msbederim Aen.t s. It Iits aTavsw eorpn.a gK3esn8,e 8eR0h gitelol. s 92C20 r, efeeeaekt s tbi enot wft heAiecrnkd nlHeeyesss, k. teot ThT hawenrpde. aC3r2ae,r baR onng.ue m. b21e,r woef sgt ooofd Reoxwpolesyu,r eass fwroemll The coal seams are lenticular but there is a definite tendency for lateral recurrence at the same stratigraphic horizon. Four horizons of recurrence are : Top, 20 feet from top, 60 feet from top, and 80-90 feet from the top. The first two horizons correspond roughly to the Thompson and the latter two to the Carbon coal horizon of Allan an.d Sanderson. An unusual feature is the appearance in Member C at certain localities of heavy massive sandstone lenses. They are up to 50 feet thick and cut out the coal seams and other sediments. One of the best examples is in Lsd. 16, Sec. 26, Twp. 37, Rge. 22 W. 4 Mer., where a sandstone 50 feet thick replaces the normal sequence from the top of the Thompson coal horizon. The sand con- tains lenses of rounded quartzite pebbles and appears to represent a stream channel deposit. Two miles north it has disappeared, while one mile south it has begun to split up and thin. Member ,C is overlain by a remarkable sedimentary formation which was named the Kneehills tuff by Sanderson and is designated Member D for purposes of this paper. This unique member is unlike any other portion of the Edmonton formation and forms an excellent marker and correlation horizon. It varies from 20 to 40 feet in thickness. The upper part consists of black to dark brown highly bentonitic shale, which often weathers to a mauve-grey. This black shale may continue to the base, but more often grades down to a white bentonitic clay or an extremely clayey white friable sandstone. There may be alternating bands of black and white clay shale, or a band of black shale below white sandstone. The upper portion of the black shale contains the Kneehills tuff proper, a thin light grey tuff bed ranging from less than an inch to about a foot in thick- ness. It is not continuous and may be absent, or there may be as nlany as four thin beds occurring within an interval of less than 12 feet. The tuff is very fine grained, hard, and weathers into a talus of angular fragments. It is often porous, the pores being filled with bentonitic clay or opaline quartz. Analyses by Sanderson show it is highly siliceous, the silica content being around 90 per cent. This member is extremely widespread and can be recognized in the field through most of the Red Deer area. At only one locality, in Lsd. 4, Sec. 30, Twp. 31, Rge. 21 W. 4 Mer., is it absent. Here the member is replaced by a coarse brown sandstone 35 feet thick, overlain by typical pale green shales of Member E. The sandstone appears to have channeled into, and removed, the tuff zone. Member E, the uppermost member, has been eroded from most of the area and good exposures are confined to two localities, the one to the north being around Ardley, centering in Twps. 38 and 39, Rge. 23, along about 10 miles of river, and the one to the south being east of Trochu in the south half of Twp. 34, Rges. 21 and 22, along about 4 miles of river. Between these areas is 28 miles of topographically lower country in which only the lowest 100 feet or less occurs. In the Ardley area one of the main stratigraphic horizons is a thick coal seam known as the Ardley seam. It is well exposed in Secs. 7 and 17, Twp. 38, Rge. 23 W. 4 Mer., where it is from 28 to 33 feet thick. To the east are several exposures showing a section between the seam and the top of Member D. 313

The interval below the seam ranges from 65 to 80 feet thick and is mainly dull grey shale, with minor sandstones. At one locality a 23-foot sandstone lies directly on top of Member D. In Sec. 14, Twp. 38, Rge. 23 W. 4 Mer., along the east bank of the river, there is exposed a section above the Ardley seam. Immediately above the seam is 80 feet of grey shale, and overlying the shale 45 feet of coarse brown- weathering sandstone. The contact between the two is sharp and uneven, and fragments of shale in the base of the sandstone indicate channeling. This sandstone has been considered the base of the Paskapoo by most workers and lies about 185 feet above the base of Member E. There are no reliable exposures for 4½ miles west and then, on the north bank of the river, is an exposure of about 100 feet of sandstone similar to the above. It appears to be 300 feet above the base of Member E. Further west, typical Paskapoo beds are found. In the southern area, east of Trochu, there is a facies change. The lowest 100 feet of Member E consists of bentonitic pale green clay shales with thick lenses of greyish brown sand, in some places hard, but in others porous. Springs issue from them at several localities. The pale green shales in places have thin bands of black shale or tuff in the bottom 30 feet. There is no sign o3 a coal seam at the Ardley horizon. About 130 feet above the base is a thin coal seam designated as the Nevis seam by Sanderson and above this the lithology becomes more similar to the Ardley section. 180 to 200 feet above the base is a coal seam, 5 to 9 feet thick, which is well exposed in several sections in Twp. 34, Rges. 21 and 22. Sanderson correlated it with the Ardley seam, but it is stratigraphically higher and the writer has called it the " "Upper Al:dley ." " Very little section above this seam is exposed. In some places a coarse sandstone lies immediately above, in other places shale. The sandstone has been considered to be the base of the Paskapoo by earlier workers, but there is no. proof. At Three Hills, in Twp. 31, Rge. 24 W. 4 Met., about 30 miles southwest, a coal seam is mined, previously considered to be the Ardley. Core hole drilling wtboyr i btIeem ra phte arlsei aadls et Osi3gil5n0 a shtfeeodew tsi tt hittihc eki s,T hasobr eotehu aHt t i3tll0hs0e s emfaemeemt. baebIrno vsteeh eemthssee htoKo lnbeeese tMhhiielclmsk beetnuri fnEfg aarnapdpp iedathlryse westward from the outcrop area. The cause of this, a possible eastward bevelling of the Edmonton formation by the overlying Paskapoo formation, will be discussed later.

EDMONTON FOEMATION IN WELL LOGS In order to obtain a correlation between the type section on the Red Deer River and the scattered exPosures on the North Saskatchewan River, the logs of 11 wells between the two rivers were examined. Samples in this part of the section are often not too reliable but with the aid of the electrolog, good correlations can be made (Figure 1) . The Kneehills tuff horizon (Member D) was chosen as the basic marker. Black shale was found in most wells, with traces of tuff. The tuff was well developed in California Standard Lacombe Province and McColl Bigstone Creek. The black shale also gives a prominent " in-kick" in the resistivity curve of the electrolog. It will be seen from the well correlation section and tabulation that the Knee- hills tuff zone maintains a fairly constant interval from the top of the Belly River, i.e., 1270 to 1385 feet, and the same constancy of interval is maintained to the first White Specks marking the top of the marine Colorado shale. 314 theIn m ocsort rueslaetfiunlg inthdeic oatthoresr amreem tbheer sc ooafl tsheea mEs.d moTnhteo nc ofloorrm oaft itohne isnh awlee liln lotghse, samples is also diagnostic. In the subsurface, Member A thickens rapidly to the north and west and replaces the underlying Bearpaw, showing that it is the shoreline phase formed along the edge of the Bearpaw sea. In the subsurface most of the coal seams are lenticular, but certain seams persist over fairly long distances. Member B maintains its character as described in the field sections, increasing in thickness from 210 feet in the south to 300 feet in the north. The Drumheller marine tongue occurs in the B.A. Hand Hills well at 610-20 feet depth but was not recognized in any other well, confirming the field evidence that it is con- fined to the south part of the Red Deer area. Member C varies from 70 to 130 feet in thickness, except in the Anglo Wabamun well, where it is 180 feet thick due to the presence of a thick sand at the top. It contains coal seams throughout the entire area and there is little change from the Red Deer sections. Member D, the Kneehills tuff horizon, has already been discussed. It main- tains a thickness of 20-45 feet in the subsurface. Member E is characterized by a number of thick coal seams at several dif- ferent horizons. In the Western Canadian Warren well, coal in the samples is prominent at two horizons, 80 and 190 feet above the base of Member E, corresponding to the Ardley and Upper Ardley horizons. In California Standard Lacombe Province, there is a well-developed seam 180 feet above the base of the member, probably the Upper Ardley. In Imperial Battle Lake, four coal horizons occur at 130, 230, 300 and 340 feet above the Kneehills tuff. The local three may represent the Ardley, Upper Ardley and Three Hills horizons. At the North Saskatchewan and Pembina Rivers, a heavy coal seam up to 50 feet thick occurs, known as the "Big" or Pembina seam. The logs of the Anglo Wabamua well and of core holes in the vicinity show the base of this seam is about 50 feet above the base of Member E and it is equivalent to the Ardley horizon on the Red Deer River. The McColl Wizard Lake well shows the Pembina seam well developed and also shows that the coal seam mined at Wizard Lake, 4 miles southwest in Sec. 4, Twp. 48, Rge. 27 W. 4 Mer., is an upper horizon, probably the Upper Ardley horizon. Only two of the wells examined start sufficiently high in the section to include definite Paskapoo. In the California Standard Lacombe Province well, a coarse sand with chert pebbles occurs 350 feet above the Kneehills tuff zone. In Imperial Battle Lake a similar sandstone 100 feet thick occurs 400 feet above the tuff. Since the sediments below the sand contain coal seams, while those above are barren, the writer places the Edmonton-Paskapoo contact at the base of the sand and has assigned a thickness of 350 to 400 feet to Member E in the area. At the time, in 1949, these were the most westerly wells that had been drilled. SURFACE SECTION ALONG THE NORTH SASKATCHEWAN RIVER The North Saskatchewan River follows a path at right angles to the regional strike. The Edmonton formation occurs from just east of Berrymoor Ferry in Twp. 30, Rge. 5 W. 5 Mer., to Riverbend in Twp. 54, Rge. 23 W. 4 Mer., a distance of some 65 miles in a straight line. No marine Bearpaw has been seen abteenrid,en dg apcarcnedovr adlairennegt .uts ouT ahtlhelery e w iranirt eeu lrn'adsre rgiecn utgtaep rspcrl aeifntfadst a ictoo nrb,re einlta ditssi oaibnns i est ndhtief. f irciEuvxletpr.o, swuirtehs salruem psicantg-

315 Member A is exposed from Riverbend west to Leduc, with various coal seams forming the best markers. Its lithology is similar to the Red Deer section, but a great part of it is stratigraphically lower, replacing the Bearpaw. A thick coal seam, known as the Clover Bar seam, outcrops near the Clover Bar Bridge in Sees. 6 and 7, Twp. 53, Rge. 23 W. 4 Mer., and is mined in that area. Mine workings show another seam 30 feet below it and boreholes show a third seam 120 feet below it. The Clover Bar seam is correlated by the writer with the thick coal seam oceuring at 680-700 feet in the B.A. Pyrcz well at Leduc. If this is correct, the seam is 200 feet above the base of the Edmonton formation. Higher coal seams, known as the Weaver, Kent, etc., horizons from mines around Edmonton, where they were worked, occur from 120-200 feet above the Clover Bar seam.

Tu5ltohp gwetEThe spox,Bt. o pi i 9t5go 1 0 i6ssfu,Iecontact 0 8se rRl0etfas0 gen et ehd.fftei rceoos2ket6mf,of a ams MembersWbweE,o c.hvd tiiisem4oc hantoM h.nt e tethr robiTe.v an,sA w weteotrhorand lioe ctrfeLeoe vMear e dlalhB e,urs meaeacsis abn gmeadcorrexposed sao e1 lAd cl2e. p r0edoo x poftep rh,eooe tsubon utau"r.b teL osaevthe Ttdeah ulteioht c nel"iognorth s Lw sateeehndrae muu orc.nn i banknveo,aei Fmrlkr noesfomdhiewo lof swdnwe, i aenaimlgnslthe river in See. 36, Twp. 40, Rge. 27 W. 4 Mer., about 85 feet stratigraphieally above the '' Leduc" " seam. yTeylFrlorrweoml l w wethhaoits hs etlaroitcneadgl ittsyha anttdo st thtoheniere s lFiiotfhfto hlMo geMmy erbreeisdre imaBnb ,l ce8rs o Ppma islokeuast p. wooeTs trh,a etghyre erwe nteh raesn hn aEoletdesmd a onbndy- ton.

mgsscaaooanniolFddlerdThe ss s o iteesomwwriter axnmi epentssho, tS se iauea nctr"n e.mdwas Fo5sin , ro aeosTs rftowt ounable ouuMpFutnc.eet rd5mrcor1 robpy,th pe R"reosto g .v iCenbe. .find irA T3g 6 twWlT5 o tph.hfo.ethe ee 5pse5 e Mtti0 o n,oetKneehills p hRur T.ito cgcwkefr p..ot h.p1 e Ts5W 1hmc,.eo e nR5mmttuff giMbonees.ue tr r e.3wt,hzone, aweWelsroete.sen trig,5ls y "MembertthMa ho eeecur rote.rca,i rrvaoswreeperi t w shofeh fov tirttehD, hiris1ianhs4l " along the North Saskatchewan River. It should be immediately above the sand just ds5me0s,a clRrl gibeae.nd t 3i bclWuitn,. e5 ina sbMtoeeuardt., , 2its0 h0et h enfe eewxte tl wle ikxdnpeoo wswunhr ei"c Ch1 1o/ea2xl pm oAislreessc hts.ho"eu thPTeehamest b "iCinnao aScleo caA.l r3sc2eh,a "mT wi sap at. river level, the seam being about 30 feet thick and disappearing under water level on both limbs. oltehnae Tnstht h e7te u0 art fnnoetp ie scttl.or ifan iAetg hhbieots uouatu p t5sw0clura0omr dfpp.se .e tp TwhFehreneoso tmmt ro uesfnn ttkorhusne c ,t gauarrrsoca whlc adiansa t a tab a esnt m hsaaeelne lgno bl ueabt cdyrlf oyothp rs e lah u tamfrsee pweeslsd u fmgoeerpuotet wcdari onnapdgt of shale containing a silt bared with beautifully preserved fossil leaf impressions. The I(neehills tuff has not been reported from the North Saskatchewan River, ac1d5rs a WoM tfpaea.,s rr . 5t oh ansMe T teShhKrte.er,a a weawwernhrbidiitetel erlorrrs ny hk t otuCnhpforfeew e sPezs ok,et no mb seuoc botuiisnn t ahofp i troRrhmefei sr vtet hehnweret so irrenaik nvrNedeer. prsW s oihhrn.a ot vs1uS /e~ls. d oWmS meoo.e cru .~e tdc 1arr3yeoS,c peTaec s.nws, to5plfm,.r y oeT 5mrw4we, hp psReo.ur rgeb5te se0.iu,d n 7r Rf oWtaughctee-e.. area.

316

West of the "C Coal Arch, " the next exposure is the Pembina seam at river level Bsato eurttrhhywe me"osGto. roo FsAeer fEtreynr c thatehmirpse m piseo niantnt" , oiuno tucStrceorcpo. po1sf5 ,m beTacswospmiv. ee 5 0vsa,e nrR~ydg esst.o cn4ae tWtaebr. eod5u tM a1ne0dt0. , fpe4oe1ot/ r2.t mhiicAlke,st 1chi5ogn hsfieerde,e t sretodh ti hcteko soabcnecd ustbrosa nsieanl m SaPeyacs .b k2ea 1ps,o tiolTl w ibpny. M 5me0m,o bsRte grew E.o .r6 k eWrs.. 5 HMoewre.,v esrt,r atai gcraopahl icsaelalmy RFinri TvoTtmehhhreee PtahaPneeardm es sakbw uianabapassro uo ousorfe-nnaEaccddme e m, tma hoiletisn n ot oeNisdc nor a orabptcthoos uEnotSt uvaatasc5 n0kti sn abfth eucTaehrswtge p.wba .a be5neoI4nv t, e RR icsitgo vhenewe.s rii7 bdd aaeeWnssreped. dro5 esf bao Md yM ei srepi .mn ra oe bvtnehgir eoot houEseds.u Pbmwseoumarrrbkkfaieencrrase. as occurring at the base of a massive sandstone both on the Edmonton and Pembina rivers. The sand is about 200 feet above the Pembina seam from subsurface correlations. There is insufficient section exposed to make this a valid correlation and at the time of writing there were no wells drilled far enough to the west to assist in the problem. SURFACE SECTION ON THE ATHABASCA RIVER In 1949, after the original paper was read, the writer examined the section exposed on the Athabasca River from Whitecourt east. Outcrops are extremely poor and ve~:y scattered, but the main divisions of the upper pal"t of the Edmon- ton formation can be recognized. PeculiaEy, the Kneehills tuff zone, which the writer was unable to find on the North Saskatchewan River, is well developed on the Athabasca. What appear to be portions of Members A and B are exposed in a few poor outcrops from Twp. 61, Rge. 5 W. 5 Mer. for 40 miles west to Sec. 34, Twp. 59, Rge. 10 W. 5 Mer., but outcrops are too few to make any reliable correlations. Members 'C and D are well exposed along the Athabasca River for 10 miles east of Whitecourt to Sec. 32, Twp. 59, Rge. 10 W. 5 Mer. The thickest ex- posed section of Member C is about 150 feet in Sec. 3, Twp. 60, Rgc. 11 W. 5 Mer., where the section shows two coal seams up to 5 feet thick and massive channel sands up to 60 feet thick. The best section of Member D is on the north bank of the river in Sec. 1, Twp. 60, Rge. 12 W. 5 Mer., where it is 28 feet thick and consists of 23 feet of black shale with a one-foot tuff bed 8 feet from the top, underlain by 5 feet of white shale and fine sand. The member is over- lain by a coarse yellowish sand and underlain by 16 feet of Member C with thin coal seams.

Twelve miles west of Whitecourt there are partial exposures of thick coal seams, apparently some of the main seams of Member E, while on the McLeod River, in Sec. 13, Twp. 59, Rge. 12 W. 5 Mer., there is a 12-foot coal seam which appears to be the Pembina equivalent. No outcrops which might represent the Edmonton-Paskapoo contact were observed by the writer. AGE AI~'D CORRELATION OF THE EDIVIONTON FORMATION" Sanderson (Allan and Sanderson, 1945) studied the marine invertebrate fauna of the Edmonton formation. His collections were mainly from the Drumheller marine tongue and the St. Mary River formation of the south. He considered the two faunas were practically identical and he assigned a Fox Hills age to the fauna. Landes (1940) , however, in discussing the Cypress Hills section, assigned a very late Pierre age to the Eastend formation, which the writer considers is somewhat stratigraphically higher than the Drumheller marine tongue. 317

Sanderson has correlated the Kneehills tuff zone with the Colgate sandstone. the uppermost member of the Fox Hills. The dinosaurian fauna is known mainly from the Red Deer River section, and pgfaarlrolsut pio nft aopM pteewmaorb se srtt orAa th.i agrvIaetp hbiseic ec nhg arcrooaulclpteesc,rt iezadse dms hbaoyiwn ltnhy e bf yrC oeSmrtae rtMonpebsemiragbne r(g 1eB9n4 ua7s n).Ad r rtThh~he en oulcopewpreaer-r tops, by the large carnivore Albertosaurus, and an abundance of diagnostic Hadrosaurs. It is generally agreed by students of dinosaurs that the lower fauna is intermediate in evolution between the Judith River (Belly River) fauna and the Lance fauna. The upper group comes from Member E, and is characterized by the Ceratop- Man genus Triceratops, by the carnivore Tyrannosaurus, by Thesecelosaurus aMaapn dpepm oeaitbnher te rt 9oE0a r bmtfeoe oe awtul rmiaetbohdosi vntt ey a4 ptb5eh se ef AenAtek.tyr doloSlfe staetyhur nesr ebuUaesmrp, g pai enhlr la tsAdh eerf dfoiAlnueirndytde lsl eyteyh aL imasar neifnaca.e ut hntMeay peTfemrrsoo.b mcehr u HtE haa edri esrb aota,hs saeear uneord-sf ftioorBnee,s t utwhneadeton u thbthteee sdloelyw t Lewar on facgeur noinuap ahsg aels.i ebse etnh ec othllienc teMde tmo bewrist hCin a 5n0d fDee. t oSft ethrneb Kernge emheilnl-s wturffit ezor'nse ,k nsoo wtlheadtg eM, enmo bedir agCn ocastni cb efo gssriolsu pheadv efa bueneanl lfyo wuintdh iMn eMmbeemrb eBr. DT. o the Sanderson 's correlation of this member with the uppermost Fox Hills is probably correct and the Fox Hills/Lance contact is probably at or near the base of Member E. toino Innl i itchsoo rltoore gltaihctaeinl gCg rwyopiurtnhesd osst hHweiirlt hlsA lthbseeecr tBtiaoa nts.te lcetS ioa(nWnsd,h etirhtseeom mnu odcs)ot rfrfieorlmramtleyad tei osthtnea baKlnidsnh eetehdhe ic lowlsrr rteitlueafr-f agrees with this correlation. The writer has demonstrated in this paper the contemporaneous relation- ships of the lower part of the Bearpaw of southeast Alberta and Member A of the Edmonton formation, which establishes the correlation between these cMMBoemeeammprbpbleeeatrrwetwo members. s ED o thfii sest hetechqo eur'CirThe veeyalqapletrueiinosvtsnwriter a lteHobn yittl lh stedo,correlates e Wmathnohedni tseFtMmrraeeutmnidncbMember gheam rn odanC n B pwfaaoitltrtehmloeB witha ntfhttoioeolr onmEg,the aiacbtsaoitolet hnngupper sd.rb oefuiSonntgrdem srLpart naabttihneoacrngte.of the sifbneorrca Mttmaeigoo aern.tef ,i aouwndn ieifasfnt i cf toouhfluetn yt sdhe pebcr teyiSo swenSn,e atetsno tdggierteratsssheosel nfr A iwinrnci htthth.h ete h lToec hwpoerre rarep clpoatiatscirioatti nlol oynfo ifdto hefte nh ttSheice ta. slMo Smuta.ta hrryMein rRnae ri yivAne vlrRbe eiarvtrnetead-r abSAtihntle .e ea o tnchfMtbh et atah ooseDri syr rn t uRoodhmeerfi tv lhhtienaBee rlter lesnaiearrs rvns p aedemacl,qwts aui for iionitvtn. oram ei l steet nhdostet n ragtaostu ot eiMutg, htrehasepm;u eghbwgdieceghrase illt Besloy . sf tt hsrMlteoih ngeeBmgh ltrlbyloeye to rtrd hbe aeaAlRttoi ewnttshghe e ert hBnvlee oe w watsrooapeupnral dwdpos aftbo sreMetn aeee.o qmfi usbtOi hveaenr- otuffL fth aczeok niseno guc tcohouenlrdcnl ubsseeiv cteeis otpnaa blelwiosonhuteolddl o igbnie c tashlie me vpsildoifueitnehcdee r,in ft haseen cc toieorqrnuesil.v atailoFenun rto nfoif vt ahtleh, eui npK pnpeerre ivhpaialtrlest work done for The California Standard Company, reports this zone at the tionpg ionft etrhvea lS bt.e inMga rcyo nRceivaelerd, . 70 feet below Willow Creek red beds, the interven-

318 anTdh eis ldoecsaclritiby erde cino rdFeudr nbiyv aFl'usr nniovteals aiss i"nR Saelce.y 2 1C,r eTewkp, . a4b,o uRtg es.o u2t3h Wof. R4i vMeerr."., iFnu rtunirvna lis reupnodretsr la1i nf oboyt o1f7 v foelecta noifc paaslhe ugnredeenH taoin w bhyi t3e fseheatl eo fw bitlha ctkh isnh aslaen, dwsh. ich

wWtmit7nii, creovOiRaianletll.esnFormation osg"u rwtew i r.tig he ptdah2eCOrt 8 re bib eotofvyhneWethaik rFsoest,. uu rwsao4 rtnn nlhoyo Mid a uvt htnlbdaeshdaeuerl ,ss. g eRob"Re g nee euc dd stthRo atvhresDutaea r reaetlS lfuhe ataoare.C r trrbiMerRodfle eon niatv.rar (soedc1 ytr 9eo s,c iC4o nonRo7u on ni)snt Fa v isaOuengrigrurerdle edneepwe rimsofmai,rvon asta"es rn:gl n I' tsRtaths nweitvroo abcoiuettrcschpie,cug p rurrFenvsarura erp enratphnnieraoi caicvrBner tas r .otloi oh,ncf fe tka teT tenrthuthvod,ife ap sfi l fnsf"souo ,ie frTrdc tmwethttihhenoapeer-.-nThickness (feet)

WBStli.olBearpaw lMoodw arR yeC srReeirevvkee r r,s e2ad5n -dfbaseotodts nt, eu cffo nzcoenaele adt top 73016186000

Base of Bearpaw to top of tuff zone 1,520 This interval of 1520 feet is slightly greater than the writer's interval to the north. Unless there is considerable thickening or thinning of section, it is quite possible that the contact of the St. Mary River and the Willow Creek may be at or near the Kneehills tuff zone. If this interpretation can be substan- tiated by further evidence, then the St. Mary River will correlate with the Edmonton from Member B to Member D inclusive, while the lower part at least of the Willow ,Creek may prove to be the equivalent of Member E and, hence, Lance in age. The writer is unfamiliar with the Wapiti formation of the Grande Prairie district, and would attempt no correlations, although part of this formation is believed to be equivalent to the Edmonton. Nor can the writer make any seefcfeticotinvse. contribution to the problem of correlation of plains and foothills However, a tuff bed and dark shale have been reported immediately below the Entrance conglomerate. It is possible that the Entrance conglomerate may be equivalent to the base of Member E, and the Embarras formation may be Lance in age, with the heavy coal seams roughly equivalent to the thick seams of Member E on the plains.

LOWER CONTACT OF THE EDNION'T01~ FORMATIOl~ Several workers on the southern plains have noted that the contact of the Belly River and the Bearpaw is sharp and appears to approximate a timeline. Sanderson states : "T The lower contact of the Bearpaw with the Belly River is everywhere sharply defined. In contrast, its upper contact with the Edmonton is gradational and indistinct. Interdigitation prevails." The writer's subsurface sections show that the Edmonton-Belly River con- tact continues on the same stratigraphic horizon that the Bearpaw-Belly River contact occupies when the Bearpaw is present. The lower part of the Edmonton represents the shoreline phase of the slowly retreating Bearpaw sea, with coal swamps forming along the shore-line. The change of land level accompanying the incursion of the Bearpaw sea affected the sediments even to the north, beyond the limits of the marine incursion. The Drumheller marine tongue appears to represent a brackish-water embayment of the upper Bearpaw. 319

UPPER CONTACT OF THE EDMONTON FORMATI01'¢ Much has been written on the controversial subject of the Edmonton-Paska- poo contact. It is of importance, as it represents the boundary of the Cretaceous and Tertiary of this part of Alberta. Allan and Sanderson (1945) postulated an erosional disconformity between the Edmonton and Paskapoo in the Red Deer River area, with differential ero- sion removing as much as 450 feet of Edmonton strata before the deposition of the Paskapoo. In their discussion of this disconformity, they list 20 sections in which beds classified as Paskapoo rest on various horizons from above the Upper Ardley seam to the Drumheller marine tongue. Of the sections listed, 8 show coarse massive sandstone resting on horizons above the Upper Ardley or Ardley seams, 6 show sandstone resting on or just above the Kneehills tuff horizon, 3 show sandstone resting on Edmonton beds with the Thompson coal horizon of Member C, while two show sandstone resting on beds about the level of the Drumheller marine tongue. One section is indeterminate. In all these sections the sandstone occurs near the present land surface and there are no beds exposed above the sandstone at the top of the section. The writer has examined nearly all of the sections listed and cannot agree with the conclusions reached by Allan and Sanderson. The writer 's studies lead him to believe that the sandstones resting on the Thompson horizon and the Drumheller marine tongue are local channel sands within the member con- cerned, such as those described earlier as occurring in Member C. Some of the sandstones listed as resting on the Kneehills tuff horizon contain dinosaur bones and are undoubtedly Lance and a phase of Member E. The horizon is the same as the " Basal Upper Edmonton Sandstone" of Sternberg (1947), which he notes is very similar lithologically and mineralogically to the higher Paskapoo sandstones. The writer is of tile firm opinion that there is no evidence of any Pre-Paska- poo erosion below the Ardley coal horizon in the Red Deer River area and, therefore, exposures of Paskapoo are confined to the northern part of the Red Deer River surface section, in the area west of Ardley. The paleontological basis on which Allan and Sanderson based their interpreta- tion is also weakened by the later evidence. The Edmonton formation at that time was considered Pre-Lance in its entirety, and Sanderson considered the Paskapoo to be probably post-Fort Union. Thus the erosion of the Edmonton was supposed to have taken place in Lance and Fort Union time. The Lance age of Member E of the Edmonton has since been conclusively fpfiesrr aoevlglsem efttnhe anbott apyte rhynSe t meqbruyanem bsmtethiroaegn.l i paornfTe tshcheeoenl ltPd eiocsevstcitooi-dnFnesfoo nacrrtnme d Ui atmynn idabo ynet a wdbaeegm eeino t spot ehfno et fhP toeat wsrPkoeaa vspikionsaotipeo ornapon. r dei stTEa hdtbiemoa snwoesnrd, it tooaensnr follows : 1. There may be continuous sedimentation through Edmonton and Paskapoo time.poaf rtt hoe f sethdeiIn this mEedntmatoionnto,case the np raondbmassive abthlye cbaausseecoarse do f btyhsandstones ei nPcraseaksaepdoencountered os tareraem a vsepleocciiatliein the sp hdauseeupper tsoa ndmsotuonntesa iwn obuuldil dbine ga irne stuhlet owf essttr.e amT hceh aenvniedleinngce. s Fofo re rtohsisio nin steeerpnr eitna titohne the base of the Paskapoo is arbitrarily placed by the writer at the base of the massive sandstone encountered in the California Standard Lacombe Province and the Imperial Battle Lake wells 350-400 feet above the Knee- hills tuff. 320 2. lAi kdeliys coponsfoitrimoni tyi nm athye exseisct tiboent wfeoer n ththee dPiassckoanpfoorom aintyd iEs damto ntthoen .b asTeh eo fm tohset massive sandstone which occurs above the Ardley seam at Ardley and above the Pcmbina seam on the North Saskatchewan and Pembina Rivers. This sandstone would be then correlated with the sandstone in the Lacombe and Battle Lake wells mentioned above. If this interpretation is correct, there would appear to be a progressive bevelling of the underlying Edmonton to the east, with Member E being reduced from 400 feet in the well sections to 185 feet in the Ardley surface section. A similar interpretation could be made for the North Saskatchewan River section, where there are at least 300 feet of beds comprising Member E in the Paddle River well and on the North Saskatchewan River, and 270, or less, feet of Member E on the Pembina River. In this connection some of the surface sections exposed around Lake Wabamuu appear to show Paskapoo-type sand- stone very close to the top of the Pembina seam, indicating the possibility of a thin Member E at this locality east of the North Saskatchewan and Pembina River sections.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Allan, J. A., 1918 "Sections along North Saskatchewan River and Red Deer and South Saskatchewan Rivers," Suture. Rept. 1917, Pt. C, pp. 9-13. Council A, l1be92rt2a,, "RGepeot.l o4g, yp po. fI -'7th2e. Drumheller Coal Field, Alberta," Research ,and Rutherford, R. L.. 1934, "Geology of Central Alberta," Research Council of Alberta, Rept. 30. and Sanderson, J. O. G., 1945, "Geology of the Red Deer and Rosebud Sheets, Alberta," Research Council of Alberta, Rept. 13. Brown, Barnum, 1914 "Cr~aceous-Eocene Correlation in New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and Alberta,' Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., Vol. 25, pp. 335-380. Dowling, D. B., 1910, "The Edmonton Coal Field," Geol. Surv. Canada, Mere. BE. FurnMivearel,. G2.4 I2V. f.,1 946, "Cypress Lake Map-Area, Saskatchewan," Geol. Surv. Canada. LandMeser, e.R 2. 2L1.,, p1p9. 4102,9 "-G21e7o. logy of the Southern Alberta Plains," Geol. Surv. Canada, McETvorayv, erJ.s, e1d 89b8y, "tRheep oYret lloonw thHee aGde oPloagsys aRnodu Ntea tfuroraml REedsmouonrcteosn ofto t hTee tCe-oJuanutnrye CRaepcht.e, ,P tC. oDm. prising Portions of Alberta and B.C.," Geol. Surv. Canada, Ann. RussSelelr,. 3L,. VSo.,l ." W26i, lSloewc. C4,r peepk. 1a3n1d-1 4S0t.. Mary River Fossils," Trans. Royal Soc. Canada, Ge-ol-., Surva. nCda nLaadnad.e sM,e rRe.. 2W21.,. 1940, "Geology of the Southern Alberta Plains," Rutherford, R. L., 1928 "Geology of the Area Between North Saskatchewan and McLeod Rivers," A~berta Research Council, Rept. 19. ,1939 "Edmonton Sheet," Geol. Surv. Canada, Map 506A. ,1939, "Stettler Sheet," Geol. Surv. Canada, Map 503A. ,1939, "Red Deer Sheet," Geol. Surv. Canada, Map 504A. --,1947 "The Cretaceous Tertiary Boundary in the Foothills of Central Alberta," Trans. Royal Society, 3rd Ser., Vol. 41, Sec. 4, pp. 47-59. Selwyn, A. R. C, 1874 Geol. Surv. Canada, Report of Progress 1873-1874. SternDbeeerrg ,V aCl.l eMy, .,A 1lb9e4r7t,a ,""T hGee oUl. pSpuervr . PCaarnt adoaf , tPhaep eErd m47o-In. ton Formation of the Red 'fCroa-nm-a ,d ath,e B 1uU9l4pl.p 7I-e41r38 ,.E "Tdmheo nEtdonn~ oMnteomnb Fear,u" nAa nannuda lD Resecproiprtt ioonf oNfa ati oNneawl TMriucseeuramto posf Tyrrell, J. B., 1886. Geol. Surv. Canada, Annual Report, Vol. 2, Parts A and E, pp. 1-186.

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