# Elk Formation > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Elk_Formation > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Elk_Formation.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_Formation > Source revision: 1317664995 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) The **Elk Formation** is a [stratigraphic unit](/source/Stratigraphic_unit) of the [Western Canada Sedimentary Basin](/source/Western_Canadian_Sedimentary_Basin) that is present in southeastern [British Columbia](/source/British_Columbia) and southwestern [Alberta](/source/Alberta).[2] It is probably of [Early Cretaceous](/source/Early_Cretaceous) age, but in some areas its strata could be as old as [Late Jurassic](/source/Late_Jurassic). It includes minor thin [coal](/source/Coal) beds and was named for [outcrops](/source/Outcrop) near the now-abandoned Elk River coal mine east of [Fernie, British Columbia](/source/Fernie,_British_Columbia).[3] ## Lithology The Elk Formation is a sequence of interbedded [sandstone](/source/Sandstone), [siltstone](/source/Siltstone), [mudstone](/source/Mudstone), [shale](/source/Shale), and chert-pebble or cobble [conglomerate](/source/Conglomerate_(geology)). Thin coal seams are present in some areas. Thick-bedded, cliff-forming sandstones and conglomerates are the most conspicuous lithologies.[3][4][5] Most of the Elk Formation coals are of high-volatile bituminous rank and most seams are less than 60 centimetres (20 in) thick. An unusual type of coal, referred to as "needle coal" occurs in very thin beds in the upper third of the formation. It consists of compacted masses of rod-like "needles" and has been shown to be of algal origin. "Needles" of vitreous coal are also found in some of the siltstones associated with the needle coals.[3] ## Environment of deposition The Elk Formation is an eastward-thinning wedge of clastic sediments that were derived from mountains to the west, transported eastward by river systems, and deposited in [alluvial plain](/source/Alluvial_plain) environments. These include [river channel](/source/River_channel), [crevasse splay](/source/Crevasse_splay), [overbank](/source/Overbank), and [marsh](/source/Marsh) environments. Conglomeratic units may represent [alluvial fan](/source/Alluvial_fan) and [braided river](/source/Braided_river) deposits.[3] ## Paleontology and age The Elk Formation contains [plant fossils](/source/Paleobotany), [palynomorphs](/source/Palynomorph), [bivalves](/source/Bivalvia), [ostracodes](/source/Ostracode), and [ichnofossils](/source/Ichnofossil), but none of these fossils are sufficiently time-sensitive to [date](/source/Biostratigraphy) the strata precisely. Palynomorph evidence suggests that the Elk Formation is mainly of Early Cretaceous age, but could be as old as Late Jurassic in some areas.[3] ## Thickness and distribution The Elk Formation is present in the [Rocky Mountain Front](/source/Rocky_Mountain_Front) and foothills of the [Canadian Rockies](/source/Canadian_Rockies) in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta. It can be traced from Flathead Ridge south of Fernie to Barrier Mountain near the [Red Deer River](/source/Red_Deer_River) in the foothills of western [Alberta](/source/Alberta). Measured thicknesses range from a maximum of 590 metres (1,940 ft) at [Mount Allan](/source/Mount_Allan_(Canada)) in Alberta to 28 metres (90 ft) north of [Coleman, Alberta](/source/Coleman,_Alberta).[3] Farther to the east it was truncated by pre-[Aptian](/source/Aptian) erosion.[2][6] ## Relationship to other units The Elk Formation is the uppermost unit of the [Kootenay Group](/source/Kootenay_Group). It gradationally and conformably overlies the [Mist Mountain Formation](/source/Mist_Mountain_Formation). It is [disconformably](/source/Unconformity) overlain by the [Cadomin Formation](/source/Cadomin_Formation) and to the east it was truncated by pre-Cadomin erosion. To the north Elk strata may correlate with part of the [Nikanassin Formation](/source/Nikanassin_Formation). Correlation to the south in [Montana](/source/Montana) has not been established, but it has been suggested that equivalent strata maybe absent due to erosion and/or nondeposition.[3] ## References 1. Newmarch, C.B. (1953). Geology of the Crowsnest coal basin, with special reference to the Fernie area. British Columbia Department of Mines, Bulletin 33. 1. Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I. (compilers), Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Geological Survey (1994). ["The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Chapter 18: Jurassic and Lowermost Cretaceous strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160701131122/http://ags.aer.ca/reports/atlas-of-the-western-canada-sedimentary-basin.htm). Archived from [the original](http://ags.aer.ca/reports/atlas-of-the-western-canada-sedimentary-basin.htm) on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-06-20. 1. Gibson, D.W. 1985. Stratigraphy, sedimentology and depositional environments of the coal-bearing Jurassic-Cretaceous Kootenay Group, Alberta and British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 357, 108 p. 1. Natural Resources Canada. ["Lexicon of Canadian Geological Units"](http://weblex.nrcan.gc.ca/weblex_e.pl?00053:011229). Retrieved 2013-12-23.[dead link] 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. 1. Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I., (compilers), Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Geological Survey (1994). ["The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Chapter 19: Cretaceous Mannville Group of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130814133127/http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/wcsb_atlas/a_ch19/ch_19.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/wcsb_atlas/a_ch19/ch_19.html) on 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2013-08-01. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elk Formation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_Formation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_Formation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.