Title | The age, foraminifera, and palynology of the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Plain Group, northern Yukon |
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Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
Author | McNeil, D H ;
Dixon, J; Bell, K M |
Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research (Online) 2021-2, 2021, 13 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/328237 Open Access |
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Year | 2021 |
Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
Document | serial |
Lang. | English |
Media | on-line; digital |
File format | pdf |
Province | Yukon |
NTS | 116G/14; 116G/15; 116G/16; 116H/13; 116H/14; 116H/15; 116H/16; 116I; 116J/01; 116J/02; 116J/03; 116J/06; 116J/07; 116J/08; 116J/09; 116J/10; 116J/11; 116J/14; 116J/15; 116J/16; 116O/01; 116O/02; 116O/03;
116O/06; 116O/07; 116O/08; 116P/01; 116P/02; 116P/03; 116P/04; 116P/05; 116P/06; 116P/07; 116P/08 |
Area | Porcupine River; Ogilvie River; Peel River; Whitestone River; Johnston Creek; Eagle River |
Lat/Long WENS | -139.5000 -136.0000 67.5000 65.7500 |
Subjects | paleontology; stratigraphy; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; Upper Cretaceous; palynology; palynological analyses; palynomorphs; micropaleontology; microfossils; biostratigraphy; fossil
zones; stratigraphic correlations; systematic stratigraphy; exploration wells; Eagle Plain; Mackenzie Delta; Eagle Plain Group; Cody Creek Formation; Burnthill Creek Formation; Fishing Branch Formation; Parkin Formation; Whitestone River Formation;
Boundary Creek Formation; Smoking Hills Formation; Foraminifera; Trochammina superstes; Haplophragmoides bilobatus; Glaphyrammina spirocompressa; Dinoflagellates; Whitefish J-70 Well; Molar P-34 Well; Ellen C-24 Well; Phanerozoic; Mesozoic;
Cretaceous |
Illustrations | location maps; biostratigraphic charts; stratigraphic cross-sections |
Program | GEM2: Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Western Arctic-Beaufort-Northern Yukon |
Released | 2021 12 21 |
Abstract | A re-evaluation of the age of the formations comprising the Eagle Plain Group of northern Yukon was necessitated by widely disparate age determinations in recent years from various authors. Maximum age
estimates for the base of the group have varied from middle Albian to Cenomanian, and age estimates for the uppermost strata varied by an even greater range, from Cenomanian to late Maastrichtian. A re-examination of new and archival foraminiferal
and palynological data indicates an age range of Cenomanian to late Maastrichtian for the Eagle Plain Group. The late Maastrichtian age is derived from palynology from the northeasternmost area of Eagle Plain. However, the stratigraphic relationship
of these youngest beds within Eagle Plain Group remains uncertain. Marine strata of the Eagle Plain Group contain foraminiferal indices that correlate with long-established regional foraminiferal zones from the Mackenzie Delta area. The Cenomanian
Zone of Trochammina superstes occurs in the Parkin and Boundary Creek formations of Eagle Plain and Mackenzie Delta, respectively. The Haplophragmoides bilobatus and overlying Glaphyrammina spirocompressa zones occur in the Burnthill Creek and
Smoking Hills formations of Eagle Plain and Mackenzie Delta, respectively. Reworked microfossils are a conspicuous feature of strata within the Eagle Plain Group. The basal sandstone of the Parkin Formation, for example, contains an assemblage of
foraminifera that is entirely reworked. Palynomorph assemblages through the Eagle Plain Group have been estimated at as much as 99% reworked in some strata. |
Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published) The geology of the Arctic has been researched by geoscientists of the Geological Survey of Canada for many years. The current focus is on energy and
minerals under the program Geo-Mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM). Our current study was required to resolve controversial interpretations of the age of Upper Cretaceous rocks in the Eagle Plain area of the northern Yukon. Correct geological age
interpretations are essential for assessment of geological resources in the area. This goal was accomplished using microscopic fossils named foraminifera and palynomorphs which are one-celled organisms preserved in rocks. Microfossil data indicated
Upper Cretaceous rocks Eagle Plain Group range in age from 65 to 100 millions years. |
GEOSCAN ID | 328237 |
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