Type Locality:

The type section is designated about 25 km (15.6 mi) southeast of Golden, British Columbia (51° 07' N, 116° 40' W).

Distribution:

At Pedley Pass the Beaverfoot Formation is 500 m (1,640 ft) thick (Norford, 1969). The formation forms resistant cliffs in the western ranges along the eastern wall of the Rocky Mountain Trench; it is present also in the main ranges, Alberta between the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan rivers, and in the Purcell Range west of Radium, British Columbia (Burling, 1922).

Locality Data:

Thickness(m): Maximum 600.

Lithology:

A thin unit of recessive rocks (Whiskey Trail Member) is present at the base of the Beaverfoot Formation in most sections. Most of the formation consists of resistant grey and light grey dolomite and limestone; the dolomitization crosses bedding and is variable in lateral development. Chert nodules are present in some beds.

Relationship:

At the type section the Beaverfoot Formation lies disconformably on the Mount Wilson Formation. Regionally Beaverfoot strata overlap the Mount Wilson and lie disconformably on older rocks. The Whiskey Trail Member is not present where the Beaverfoot Formation overlaps the Mount Wilson Formation to rest on older rocks. The Lower Silurian Tegart Formation (Norford, 1969) conformably overlies the Beaverfoot Formation in the western ranges. (The Tegart Formation includes argillaceous limestones once assigned to the Brisco Formation). Between Clearwater and North Saskatchewan rivers the Beaverfoot Formation is not younger than Upper Ordovician and is overlain by Devonian beds.

History:

Burling (1922) named the Beaverfoot Formation for dolomites and limestones, believed to be upper Ordovician, in the western ranges and, locally, in the Purcell Range, southeastern British Columbia. Walcott (1924) named the Brisco Formation for a succession of limestones and dolomites (believed by him to be lower Silurian) that are approximately co-extensive with the underlying Beaverfoot Formation. Subsequent mappers could not distinguish between the two formations on lithologic grounds and the combined succession was for many years referred to as the Beaverfoot-Brisco Formation (Norford, 1962a). Norford (1969) proposed that the names Brisco Formation and Beaverfoot-Brisco Formation be abandoned, that rocks at the Brisco type section be included in the Beaverfoot Formation, and that recessive beds in the lower part of the Beaverfoot Formation be named the Whiskey Trail Member; he also proposed the Pedley Pass section as the type locality for the formation.

References:

Burling, L.D., 1922. A Cambro-Ordovician section in the Beaverfoot Range, near Golden, British Columbia; Geological Magazine, v. 49, p. 452-461.

Norford, B.S., 1962. The Beaverfoot-Brisco Formation in the Stanford Range, British Columbia; Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Journal of the Alberta Society of Petroleum Geologists, v. 10, p. 443-453.

Norford, B.S., 1969. Ordovician and Silurian stratigraphy of the southern Rocky Mountains; Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 176, 90 p.

Walcott, C.D., 1924. Geological formations of Beaverfoot-Brisco Range, British Columbia; Cambrian geology and paleontology, Part 5, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, v. 75, p. 1-51.