cadomin shetsen ornithischian lithology mossop sparwood kootenay conformably grp siltstone mudstone fairholme wabamun fernie unconformably mbr ginkgos arctomys depositional southesk flexures 2,180 overlain ishbel brazeau 24209 osmólska seams weishampel aptian
how does the mist mountain formation differ from the units that it overlies
Mist Mountain Formation - wikipedia Mist Mountain Formation Jump to : navigation , search <Th_colspan="2"> Mist Mountain Formation Stratigraphic range : Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous ) PreЄ Є Pg Type Geological formation Unit of Kootenay Group Underlies Cadomin Formation and Elk Formation Overlies Morrissey Formation Thickness maximum 665 metres ( 2,180 ft ) <Th_colspan="2"> Lithology Primary Sandstone , siltstone , mudstone Other Coal , conglomerate <Th_colspan="2"> Location Region Alberta British Columbia Country Canada <Th_colspan="2"> Type section Named for Mist Mountain , Alberta Named by D.W. Gibson , 1979 The Mist Mountain Formation is a latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous geologic formation in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin of southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta . It was named for outcrops along a western spur of Mist Mountain in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta . It contains economically important coal reserves that are mined in southeastern British Columbia . Contents ( hide ) 1 Lithology 2 Environment of deposition 3 Thickness and distribution 4 Relationship to other units 5 Paleontology and age 6 Coal resources 7 See also 8 References Lithology ( edit ) The Mist Mountain Formation consists of interbedded light to dark grey siltstone , silty shale , mudstone , and sandstone , with localized occurrences of chert - and quartzite - pebble conglomerate and conglomeratic sandstone . It also contains a series of economically important coal seams . Environment of deposition ( edit ) The Mist Mountain Formation is part of the Kootenay Group , an eastward - thinning wedge of sediments derived from the erosion of newly uplifted mountains to the west . The sediments were transported eastward by river systems and deposited in a variety of fluvial channel , floodplain , swamp , coastal plain and deltaic environments along the western edge of the Western Interior Seaway . Thickness and distribution ( edit ) The Mist Mountain Formation is present in the front ranges and foothills of the Canadian Rockies in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta . It extends from the Canada -- US border to north of the North Saskatchewan River . It thins eastward , ranging from 665 metres ( 2,180 ft ) thick near Elkford , British Columbia , to less than 25 metres ( 80 ft ) in the eastern foothills in Alberta . Farther to the east it was truncated by pre-Aptian erosion . Relationship to other units ( edit ) The Mist Mountain Formation is the middle unit of the Kootenay Group . It rests conformably on the cliff - forming sandstones of the Moose Mountain Member of the Morrissey Formation , and is conformably overlain by the Elk Formation . In the eastern foothills , the Elk Formation has been removed by erosion and the Mist Mountain Formation is unconformably overlain by the Cadomin Formation . North of the North Saskatchewan River , the Mist Mountain Formation grades into the Nikanassin Formation . Correlation south of the Canada -- United States border is uncertain . Paleontology and age ( edit ) Fossilized leaves of a cycadophyte ( left ) and a fern ( right ) from the Mist Mountain Formation at an open - pit coal mine near Sparwood . Plant fossils from the Mist Mountain Formation include remains of ferns , cycads , cycadeoids , Ginkgos and extinct conifers . No remains of flowering plants have been reported . Indeterminate fossil ornithischian tracks are also known from the formation . None of the fossils are sufficiently time - sensitive to date the formation precisely . Coal resources ( edit ) Economically important coal seams occur throughout the Mist Mountain Formation , and some of the seams near the base for the formation are regionally extensive . The strata were strongly folded and faulted during the Laramide Orogeny , which brought the coal to surface in many places . This also produced localized thickening and thinning of the coal in some areas due to shearing and fault - repetition of the seams , especially in the cores of folds and flexures . Localized coal thicknesses of up to 18 metres ( 60 ft ) have been documented . Mist Mountain coal generally has a low sulphur content and coal rank ranges from high - volatile bituminous to semi-anthracite . As of 2015 , it is being produced from large open - pit mines near Sparwood and Elkford , British Columbia , and the majority of it is exported to international markets for use as coking coal . Mist Mountain coal was formerly mined near Fernie , British Columbia , in the Crowsnest Pass area of Alberta , and at Canmore , Alberta , primarily by underground mining methods . See also ( edit ) Earth sciences portal Paleontology portal Dinosaurs portal List of dinosaur - bearing rock formations List of stratigraphic units with ornithischian tracks Indeterminate ornithischian tracks References ( edit ) ^ Jump up to : Gibson , D.W. 1979 . The Morrissey and Mist Mountain formations - newly described lithostratigraphic units of the Jura - Cretaceous Kootenay Group , Alberta and British Columbia . Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology 27 : 183 - 208 . ^ Jump up to : 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 18 : Jurassic and Lowermost Cretaceous strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin '' . Retrieved 2016 - 06 - 20 . CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) ^ Jump up to : 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 , 1 CD - ROM . ISBN 0 - 920230 - 23 - 7 . ^ Jump up to : Gibson , D.W. 1985 . Stratigraphy , sedimentology and depositional environments of the coal - bearing Jurassic - Cretaceous Kootenay Group , Alberta and British Columbia . Geological Survey of Canada , Bulletin 357 , 108 p . Jump up ^ 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 19 : Cretaceous Mannville Group of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin '' . Archived from the original on 2013 - 08 - 14 . Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 01 . CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Bell , W.A. 1949 . Lower Cretaceous floras of western Canada . Geological Survey of Canada , Memoir 285 , 331 p . Jump up ^ Weishampel , D.B. , Dodson , P. , and Osmólska , H. ( eds . ) : The Dinosauria , 2nd ed. , `` Dinosaur distribution , '' pp. 517 - 607 . Berkeley : University of California Press . 861 pp. ISBN 0 - 520 - 24209 - 2 . Jump up ^ Mossop , G.D. and Shetsen , I. , ( compilers ) , Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists ( 1994 ) . `` The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin , Chapter 33 : Coal Resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin '' . Archived from the original on 2013 - 09 - 30 . Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 01 . CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) <Th_colspan="2"> Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin Hydrocarbon history Oil sands and heavy oil Frontier exploration and development Natural gas liquids Natural gas Depositional regions Southern Alberta Central Alberta Northwestern Alberta Plains South - central Canadian Rockies foothills North - east Plains North - central foothills Liard River Fort Nelson Northern Rocky Mountains Fort St. John Saskatchewan Western Manitoba Canadian Rockies Paskapoo FM Brazeau GRP St Mary FM Belly River FM Alberta GRP Wapiabi FM Cardium FM Blackstone FM Blairmore GRP Cadomin FM Kootenay GRP Fernie GRP Spray River GRP Whitehorse MBR Sulphur Mt MBR Ishbel FM Kananaskis FM Tunnel Mt FM Rundle GRP Etherington FM Mt Head FM Livingstone FM Banff FM Exshaw FM Wabamun FM Palliser FM Alexo FM Fairholme GRP Southesk FM Cairn FM Flume FM Skoki FM Outram FM Lynx FM Arctomys FM Pika FM Eldon FM Stephen FM Cathedral FM Mt Whyte FM Gog GRP Miette FM Canadian Shield Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mist_Mountain_Formation&oldid=803504233 '' Categories : Geologic formations of Canada Upper Jurassic Series Stratigraphy of Alberta Cretaceous Alberta Cretaceous British Columbia Stratigraphy of British Columbia Lower Cretaceous Series Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 2 October 2017 , at 23 : 03 . 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