Pika Formation

Pika Formation
Stratigraphic range: Middle Cambrian
~509–500 Ma
Stromatolites in the Pika Formation near Helen Lake, Banff National Park, Canada
TypeFormation
UnderliesArctomys Formation, Deadwood Formation, or Sullivan Formation
OverliesEldon Formation, Titkana Formation, or Earlie Formation
ThicknessUp to 361 metres (1,184 ft)[1]
Lithology
PrimaryCalcareous mudstone
OtherLimestone, dolomite
Location
Coordinates51°29′40″N 116°06′05″W / 51.49444°N 116.10139°W / 51.49444; -116.10139 (Pika Formation)
RegionCanadian Rockies
Country Canada
Type section
Named forPika Peak
Named byC.F. Deiss, 1939[2]

The Pika Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Middle Cambrian age that is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia.[3] It was named for Pika Peak near Lake Louise in Banff National Park by C.F. Deiss in 1939.[2] It is fossiliferous and preserves several genera of trilobites.[4] Outcrops of the Pika Formation can be seen in Banff and Jasper National Parks.[5]

  1. ^ Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN 0-920230-23-7.
  2. ^ a b Deiss, C.F. 1939. Cambrian formations of southwestern Alberta and southeastern British Columbia. Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 50, p. 951-1019.
  3. ^ Slind, O.L., Andrews, G.D., Murray, D.L., Norford, B.S., Paterson, D.F., Salas, C.J., and Tawadros, E.E., Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Geological Survey (1994). "The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I., compilers), Chapter 8: Middle Cambrian and Early Ordovician Strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin". Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2018-07-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Melzak, A. and Westrop, S.R. 1994. Mid-Cambrian (Marjuman) from the Pika Formation, southern Canadian Rocky Mountains, Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, vol. 31, p. 969-985.
  5. ^ Leckie, D.A. 2017. Rocks, ridges and rivers – Geological wonders of Banff, Yoho, and Jasper National Parks. Brokenpoplars, Calgary, Alberta, 217 pp. ISBN 978-0-9959082-0-8.