Clearwater Formation
The Clearwater Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous (Albian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northeastern Alberta, Canada. It was first defined by R.G. McConnell in 1893 and takes its name from the Clearwater River near Fort McMurray.
| Clearwater Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Mannville Group |
| Sub-units | Wabiskaw Member |
| Underlies | Grand Rapids Formation |
| Overlies | McMurray Formation |
| Thickness | up to 85 metres (280 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Shale |
| Other | Sandstone, siltstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 58.01365°N 111.34377°W |
| Region | northeastern and central Alberta |
| Country | Canada |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Clearwater River |
| Named by | R.G. McConnell, 1893 |
Impermeable marine shales in the Clearwater Formation provided part of the trapping mechanism for the underlying Athabasca oil sands in the McMurray Formation. Sandstone units in the Clearwater Formation, including the Wabiskaw Member, can contain oilsand and heavy oil resources.
Nearly complete specimens of plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs, as well as one ankylosaur, have been recovered from the formation during oilsand mining.
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