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Integrated Stratigraphy of the Lower and Middle Fernie Formation in Alberta and British Columbia, Western Canada

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Integrated Stratigraphy of the Lower and Middle Fernie Formation in Alberta and British Columbia, Western Canada Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia volume 110 no. 1 pp. 61-68 April 2004 INTEGRATED STRATIGRAPHY OF THE LOWER AND MIDDLE FERNIE FORMATION IN ALBERTA AND BRITISH COLUMBIA, WESTERN CANADA SSELL HALL1, VICKI MCNICOLL2, DARREN GRÒCKE3, JAMES CRAIG4 & KEVIN JOHNSTON1 Received September 19, 2002; accepted September 30, 2003 Key words: Jurassic, ammonites, biochronology, coccoliths, U-Pb analyses, have recently been obtained from fossilif­ i'r ^'ochronolo^v, strontium isotopes, zircons, Fernie Formation, erous volcano-sedimentary units in the North American Riiocian. Cordillera (Pâlfy et al. 2000). There, volcanic products Matratt. The lower and middle parts of the Fernie Formation are interbedded with ammonite-bearing sediments that i irjl-western Alberta and south-eastern British Columbia, ranging provide good biochronological constraints. This integra­ : 1'licnsbachian to rBathonian (Early to Middle Jurassic) in age, and tion of biostratigraphic and geochronologic data has al­ •>•»'.*mainly ol fossiliferous dark shales and black limestones, con- lowed improved estimates for the numeric age of Jurassic I'fntonitlc clay horizons which have yielded radiometric ages using stage boundaries. l'i* analysis of zircon crystals. Here we report six new ages from the .frullisi Red Deer Member (188.3 +1.5/-1 Ma); Highwood Mem- Tectonism and magmatic events associated with ra. 173 Ma and 166.6 ± 0.2 Ma); and Grey Beds (167.0 ± 0.2 Ma, accretion of allochthonous terranes to the western mar­ • 1.1 C.3 Ma, and 165.4 ± 0.3 Ma). Some of these bentonites are as- gins of ancestral North America, beginning in about .ujwiih ammonites and coccoliths which provide biostratigraph- Middle Jurassic time, are reflected in Jurassic sediments . 'HMraints. Strontium, carbon and oxygen isotopes measured from deposited farther east in the Western Canada Sedimen­ trait* rostra have been compared in two sections and the resulting - .ire compared with those from western Europe. tary Basin where volcanic ash layers are interbedded with ammonite-bearing dark shales of the Fernie For­ Rnitìunto. Le parti inferiore e media della Formazione Fernie mation. In this paper we report six new U-Pb zircon \ibcna centro-occidentale e nella Columbia Britannica sudorien- ages from analysis of zircons in ash layers from cen­ ;•. li .ai età va dal I'Iicnsbachiano al PBathoniano (Giurassico da infe­ ri a medio), e che consistono principalmente in shale fossiliferi scuri tral-western Alberta (Bighorn Creek and its eastern L.in neri fossiliferi, contengono orizzonti di argilla bentomtica che tributary) and south-eastern British Columbia (Ford­ fornito datazioni radiometriche con l'analisi U-Pb dei cristalli ing River) (Fig. 1). iiii.ne. Qui riportiamo sei nuove datazioni dalla parte più bassa del Detailed geochemical analyses on two sections, :m> Red Deer (188.3 +1.5/-1 Ma); dal Membro Highwood (ca. Mie 166.6 ± 0.2 Ma) e dai Grey Beds (167.0 ± 0.2 Ma, 165.6 ± 0.3 Bighorn Creek and its nearby eastern tributary, have been . : 165.4 ± 0.3 Ma). Alcune di queste bentoniti sono associate con completed for strontium, oxygen and carbon isotopie ra­ : muti e coccoliti, che forniscono le delimitazioni biostratigrafiche, tios. Variations in the strontium-isotope curve derived "tupi dello stronzio, del carbonio e dell'ossigeno misurati da rostri from the analysis of belemnite rostra in these sections .demniti sono stati confrontati in due sezioni, e le curve risultanti .vno comparate con quelle dell'Europa nordoccidentale. allow for correlation with that previously generated in Europe (Jones et al. 1994a). Unfortunately, biochronological constraints in these two sections depend on only intermittent occur­ Introduction rences of ammonites, which occur as lateral impressions A significant number of new isotopie dates for cali- on bedding planes; some levels have also yielded cocco- : fatum of the Jurassic time-scale, based on high precision lith floras. I , .|..gv Si Geophysics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada. E-mail; hallrfu'ucalgary.ca liticai Survey of Canada, 601 Booth St., Ottawa, Ontario Kl A 0E8, Canada v ••••.J nl Geography & Geology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, Canada it' Box 668, Bragg Creek, Alberta T0L 0K0, Canada 62 R. Hall, V. McNicoll, D. Gròcke, J. Craig & K. Johnston CM in 114°50' 115°35 Bighorn Creek and east tributary localities, Alberta. Scalp Creek 1:50 000 topographic mapsheet, 82 0/13E and Barrier Mountain 1:50 000 topographic mapsheet, 82 0/12 Fording River, British Columbia. Tornado Mountain 1:50 000 topographic mapsheet, 82 G/15 V - Vancouver C - Calgary Fig. I - a - map showing location (I) ol Grey Beds (Fernie Formation) at Fording River, south-eastern British Columbia; grid reference 293, Tornado Mountain 1:50 000 topographic mapsheet, 82 G/15; b - map showing Ferme Formation locations on Bighorn Creek its eastern tributary, Alberta; (2) Red Deer Member, grid reference 024 354, Scalp Creek 1:50 000 topographic mapsheet, 82 0/1 (3) Highwood Member, grid reference 010 335, Barrier Mountain 1:50 000 topographic mapsheet, 82 0/I2; (4) Highwood Mem! grid reference 023 353, Scalp Creek 1:50 000 topographic mapsheet, 82 0/I3E ; (5) Grey Beds, grid reference 022 352, Scalp Crée: 50 000 topographic mapsheet, 82 0/I3F.. Geological Setting Reaching maximum thicknesses of only about] m, the Fernie Formation is a recessive unit occurring In the Foothills and Front Ranges of the Canadian isolated outcrops along valley floors, and was interrì Rocky Mountains the Fernie Formation represents al­ deformed by Cretaceous over-thrusting accompanvi most the entire Jurassic; its internal subdivision into in­ Cordilleran teetonism. While most units within the Fer formal members, their lithostratigraphy and biostratigra- Formation have been reasonably well-dated using amir phy, were summarised by Hall (1984). Lower and Middle ni te faunas, there are many faunal gaps (Hall 1984). D Jurassic parts of the Ferme Formation consist predomi­ ing of upper Middle Jurassic units (Highwood Memi nantly of grey and black shales, with minor siltstones, Grey Beds) is made more difficult by the strong fan sandstones, conglomerates and limestones, the source of provinciality developed amongst ammonites from L detrital sediments being on the craton to the east. These Bajocian to Early Oxfordian times (Callomon 1984). strata represent the youngest parts of the passive margin sequence, which accumulated on the western margin of cratonic North America throughout the Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic. The uppermost part of the Fernie For­ Lithostratigraphy and descriptions of sections mation (Passage Beds; Oxfordian) records a complete re­ Bighorn Creek versal in basin polarity, reflecting accretionary tectonics The lowermost Jurassic sediments at this locality consisti occurring farther west, which resulted in development thin (8 cm), phosphaiic-pebble lag filling depressions on an erosii of a subsiding foreland basin with influx of coarse elas­ surface developed over Lower to Middle Triassic rocks (Sulphur Mfl tics, and volcanic and igneous detritus, from a westerly lain Formation); fragmented ammonites indicate a Late Sinemurim for this pebble bed (Stellare Subzone, Obtusum Zone). Abovei source - the rising ancestral Rocky Mountains (Poulton m thick covered interval, the Upper Pliensbachian Red Deer Men et al. 1994). consists of 9 m of hard, platy, black, limestone and shale. The m Stratigraphy of the Ferme Formations 63 Fig. 2 - Carbon, oxygen, and stron­ B7 86 (NBS 987) Stable Isotopes Bighorn Creek Sr/ Sr tium isotope curves for the Heigh. Stage, Zone 13 1B Highwood Member of the & 6 Cearb%.(VPDB) & Ocarb%.(VPDB) M sludy Fernie Formation at Bighorn Creek. Placement of Stage and Zone boundaries (in col­ umns under "this study") based on variations in iso­ tope curves, not ammonites found in this section. ne, Poker Chip Shale, 12 m thick, consists of more fissile and papery, calcareous siltstones with some poorly preserved lateral impressions of :mnly laminated, black silty shales, and in its lower parts contains a rich Late Pliensbachian ammonites (Hall et al. 1998). ammonite fauna of early Toarcian age (Falciferum to Bifrons Zones; The overlying Poker Chip Shale can here be seen in direct con­ Hall 1987). tact with the Red Deer Member, and is almost continuously exposed The dark shales of the Poker Chip Shale grade upward fairly in low outcrops along both sides of the creek, providing a measured •ìpidly into grey, rusty- and yellow-weathering, softer shales of the stratigraphie thickness of at least 12 m. Its basal contact with the Red Highwood Member which here i.s 18 m thick. This unit contains thin Deer Member is marked by a change from hard and thicker-bedded runds of calcareous concretions, often accompanied by rounded, black, black, calcareous siltstones to softer, more platy, black fine siltstones. nhosphatic pebbles, numerous fragmented belemnite rostra, and abun- It is difficult to pick the upper contact with the overlying Highwood •Jant secondary gypsum and goethite. Near the top of the unit there are Member, as the color differences and weathering characters used to :inn,orange-white, soft bentonitic clay layers of volcanic origin. While separate these members elsewhere are not so obvious here. The con­ in ammonites have been found at this locality, on the west bank at the tact almost certainly lies somewhere just below a resistant chert pebble next cutbank upstream, a similar pebbly bed containing fragmented and cobble bed, with a black, sandy matrix, and containing abundant, nelemnites and immediately overlying a yellow-white bentonitic clay, current-oriented belemnite rostra (at 23.2 m on Fig. 3). nas produced one partial external mold of a sonniniid ammonite, indi­ The Highwood Member consists of just over 10 m of mainly cating an early Baiocian age. platy, dark grey shales with several thin, cemented horizons and five On Bighorn Creek the overlying Grey Beds are not seen in soft, yellow-white-orange, bentonitic clay layers containing numerous omtact with the Highwood Member, but are exposed along several fragmented belemnite rostra and rounded, black phosphatic pebbles.
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