Snake Indian Formation
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| Snake Indian Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Middle Cambrian ~ | |
| Type | Formation |
| Underlies | Eldon Formation, Titkana Formation |
| Overlies | Gog Group |
| Thickness | Up to 610 metres (2000 ft)[1][2] |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Shale |
| Other | Limestone, siltstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 53°03′07″N 118°11′57″W / 53.05194°N 118.19917°W |
| Region | Canadian Rockies |
| Country | Canada |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Snake Indian River |
| Named by | E.W. Montjoy and J.D. Aitken[1] |
The Snake Indian Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Cambrian age that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the northern Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia.[3] It was named for Snake Indian River in Jasper National Park by E.W. Montjoy and J.D. Aitken in 1978. The type locality was established on Chetamon Mountain.[1]
The Snake Indian Formation was deposited in shallow marine environments along the western shoreline of the North American Craton during Middle Cambrian time. It is a thick sequence of shale and calcareous shale with interbeds of limestone and siltstone. Mudcracks in the basal shales indicate that there were periods of subaerial exposure during the early stages of deposition.[1]