McMurray Formation

McMurray Formation
Stratigraphic range: late Barremian to Aptian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Outcrop along the Athabasca River, ca. 1900
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Mannville Group
Sub-units	Upper, Middle and Lower members
Underlies	Clearwater Formation (Wabiskaw Member)
Overlies	Waterways Formation, Banff Formation, Wabamun Formation
Area	140,000 km2 (54,000 sq mi)[1]
Thickness	up to 60 metres (200 ft)[2]
Lithology
Primary	Sand, sandstone
Other	Silt, mud, coal
Location
Coordinates	56°59′45″N 111°27′24″W / 56.995921°N 111.456612°W / 56.995921; -111.456612 (McMurray Formation)
Region	Alberta
Country	Canada
Type section
Named for	Fort McMurray
Named by	F.H. McLearn,1917[3]

The McMurray Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous age (late Barremian to Aptian stage) of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northeastern Alberta.^[4] It takes the name from Fort McMurray and was first described from outcrops along the banks of the Athabasca River 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of Fort McMurray by F.H. McLearn in 1917.^[3] It is a well-studied example of fluvial to estuarine sedimentation, and it is economically important because it hosts most of the vast bitumen resources of the Athabasca Oil Sands region.