Wapiti Group

The Wapiti Group is a stratigraphical unit of Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It has formation status in Alberta and group status in British Columbia.

Wapiti Group
Stratigraphic range: Cretaceous PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological group
Underlies	Scollard Formation
Overlies	Smoky Group, Kotaneelee Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Conglomerate, coal
Location
Coordinates	55.1°N 118.3°W / 55.1; -118.3 (Wapiti Group)
Region	Alberta,  British Columbia
Country	Canada
Type section
Named for	Wapiti River
Named by	G M Dawson, 1881

It takes the name from the Wapiti River, and was first described along the banks of the lower Wapiti River and Smoky River in the Grande Prairie area by George Mercer Dawson in 1881.^[1]

Lithology

The Wapiti Group is composed of thin-bedded to massive sandstone with occasional conglomerate and coal beds.^[2]

Distribution

The Wapiti Formation occurs at surface as erosional remnants in north-eastern British Columbia along the Beaver River, Liard River, between the Kotaneelee River and Petitot River.^[2] It reaches a thickness of several hundred meters.^{[citation needed]}

Relationship to other units

The Wapiti Group forms the present day erosional surface in British Columbia, and is overlain by the Scollard Formation in its eastern reaches. It conformably and gradually overlays the Kotaneelee Formation in British Columbia, and the Smoky Group in north-western Alberta.^[2]

References

1. Dawson, G.M., 1881. Report on the exploration from Port Simpson on the Pacific Coast to Edmonton on the Saskatchewan River, Embracing a portion of the northern part of British Columbia and the Peace River country, with Maps 150 and 152; Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress 1879-1880, Part B, p. 1-77.
2. Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Wapiti Group". Retrieved 2009-12-16.

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