Earth and Environment Atlas

How The Planet Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Geological Formation

Horseshoe Canyon Formation

Named Rock Formations and Groups

The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta, part of the Edmonton Group, made up of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shale and coal seams laid down across floodplains, estuarine channels and coal swamps. It dates to the Late Cretaceous, roughly 73.1 to 68 million years ago, spanning the Campanian to early Maastrichtian stages, and takes its name from the badlands around Drumheller, where it crops out extensively along with exposures near Trochu and Edmonton. Its type section at Drumheller measures about 250 meters thick, thickening to more than 500 meters near Calgary, and its coal beds have been mined since 1911 and are now targeted for coalbed methane. The formation has yielded a rich fossil record including the dinosaurs Albertosaurus, Edmontosaurus, Hypacrosaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus, alongside mammals, other reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates.

Connections

Associated With

Coal, Materials
Source Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Wikipedia)
Cretaceous, Eras
Source Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Wikipedia)
Mudstone, Materials
Source Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Wikipedia)
Sandstone, Materials
Source Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Wikipedia)
Shale, Materials
Source Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Source Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Source Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Wikipedia)
  • Caused By: Sedimentation, Lead paragraph
    A variety of depositional environments are represented in the succession, including floodplains, estuarine channels, and coal swamps, which have yielded a diversity of fossil material.
  • Associated With: Cretaceous, Lead paragraph
    It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
  • Associated With: Coal, Lead paragraph
    It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
  • Associated With: Sandstone, Lead paragraph
    It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
  • Associated With: Cretaceous, Lead, age Cretaceous
    It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
  • Associated With: Mudstone, Lead, rock Mudstone
    It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
  • Associated With: Sandstone, Lead, rock Sandstone
    It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
  • Associated With: Shale, Lead, rock Shale
    It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
  • Associated With: Coal, Lead, rock Coal
    It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams.
  • In Discipline: Stratigraphy, Lead paragraph
    The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.