Elk Point Group

Elk Point Group Stratigraphic range: Middle Devonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Dawson Bay Formation Prairie Evaporite Formation Muskeg Formation Presqu'ile Formation Winnipegosis Formation Contact Rapids Formation Chinchaga Formation Cold Lake Formation Ernestina Lake Formation Lotsberg Formation Prairie Evaporite Formation Winnipegosis Formation Ashern Formation
Underlies	Souris River Formation, Beaverhill Lake Formation
Overlies	Pre-cambrian to Ordovician basement
Thickness	up to 610 metres (2,000 ft)[1]
Lithology
Primary	Dolomite, shale
Other	Anhydrite, potash, limestone
Location
Coordinates	53°54′19″N 110°37′49″W / 53.9053°N 110.6304°W / 53.9053; -110.6304 (Elk Point Group)Coordinates: 53°54′19″N 110°37′49″W / 53.9053°N 110.6304°W / 53.9053; -110.6304 (Elk Point Group)
Region	Alberta
Country	Canada
Type section
Named for	Elk Point
Named by	McGehee, 1949

The Elk Point Group is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Devonian age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

It takes the name from the town of Elk Point, and was first described in the Anglo-Canadian Elk Point No. 11 well by McGehee in 1949.^[2]

Lithology

The Elk Point Group is composed of dolostone, shale, anhydrite, potash and limestone. ^[1]

Distribution

The Elk Point Group extends from the North Dakota in the south-east, through Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to northeastern British Columbia.^[1] It reaches a maximum thickness of 610 metres (2,000 ft) in eastern Alberta.

Relationship to other units

The Elk Point Group is conformably overlain by the Souris River Formation in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and by the Beaverhill Lake Formation in Alberta. It rests unconformably on Precambrian basement in the Peace River Arch and the Tathlina uplift, on Cambrian strata in north-eastern Alberta and Saskatchewan, on Ordovician formations in western Alberta, Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba.^[1]

It is equivalent to Stone Formation, Arnica Formation, Funeral Formation and Landry-Manetoe Formation. Its equivalents in northeastern British Columbia are the Headless Formation and Nahanni Formation. It includes the Pine Point Formation or the sum of Lonely Bay Formation and Horn River Formation in parts of northeastern British Columbia, and grades westward to the Horn River Formation and the lower part of the Besa River Formation.

Subdivisions

In northern Alberta and central Alberta, the Elk Point Group contains the following subdivisions, from top to base:

In southern Alberta

The Elk Point Group is dolomitic and is not differentiated.

In Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Montana

References