Mall Bay Formation
Geologic formation in Newfoundland, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mall Bay Formation is an Ediacaran formation, cropping out in Newfoundland and possibly elsewhere. It is part of the Conception Group, underlying the Gaskiers Formation.[2][1]
| Mall Bay Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran [1] | |
| Type | Formation |
| Unit of | Conception Group |
| Underlies | Gaskiers Formation[2] |
| Thickness | 1000 m (3,280 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Siliciclastic siltstones |
| Other | Mudstone, Sandstone |
| Location | |
| Region | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Country | Canada |
Outcrop distribution on Avalon peninsula, Newfoundland | |
A recent study has found that this formation preserves evidence that the Gaskiers glaciation, which had previously been restricted to the Gaskiers Formation and only lasting roughly 1 million years, had actually begun a lot earlier than originally thought. This has been inferred through the discovery of glacial deposits like dropstones and clasts some 500 m below the Gaskiers base, giving the Gaskiers glaciation a duration of somewhere between 1.05 Ma to 4.8 Ma, up from the previous estimate of 350 ka to 1.6 Ma.[1]
