Type Locality:

Hopewell Cape, Albert County (NTS 21 H/15E) and the southwest end of the Maringouin Peninsula, Westmorland County, New Brunswick (NTS 21 H/1OE).

Distribution:

The thickness of the formation is generally less than 1000 m. It outcrops in two main areas: the first is from French Village (NTS 21 H/05) to Parlee Brook (NTS 21 H/11), from Springfield (NTS 21 H/12) through Sussex (NTS 21 H/12) to Portage Vale (NTS 21 H/14), and from Sussex to South Branch in Kings County (NTS 21 H/11); the second area is in the Stoney Creek, Memramcook, Hillsborough (NTS 21 H/15), and Alma (NTS 21 H/10) Hopewell Cape (NTS 21 H/15) areas of Albert and Westmorland counties.

Lithology:

Redbeds consisting of reddish-brown conglomerate, quartz-feldspathic sandstone and mudstone, in places with well developed calcrete. The relative amounts of each rock-type vary depending on proximity to pre-Carboniferous uplands. The Hopewell Group is divided into three formations in two separate geographical areas. In one it includes, in ascending order, the Maringouin, Shepody, and Enragé formations, and in the other the Poodiac, Wanamaker, and Scoodic Brook formations. The Bathurst, Carlisle, Newcastle Creek, and Shin formations are stratigraphically equivalent to the Hopewell Group.

Relationship:

The Hopewell Group conformably overlies the Lower Carboniferous Windsor Group. Where the Windsor is absent, the Hopewell unconformably overlies pre-Carboniferous rocks. The Hopewell is conformably but abruptly overlain by the Upper Carboniferous Boss Point Formation.

History:

Rocks of the Hopewell Group were included in the "new red sandstone" of Gesner (1840), the "lower coal measures" of Dawson (1855a), and the Lower Carboniferous formation of Bailey and Ells (1878) and Ells (1885). It was the third member in the Intermediate Group of Young (1912) and was included in the upper part of the Windsor Formation and the lower part of the Boss Point Formation by Bell (1914). Wright (1922) included the Hopewell in zone No. 1 of his Petitcodiac Series, which Norman (1932) named the Demoiselle Formation. The name Hopewell Formation was introduced by Ami (1902a, p.162) and applied to the rocks in the Joggins (NTS 21 H/09) area that lie above the Windsor Group and below the Millstone Grit. However, it was not until Norman (1941a, 1941b) that the name Hopewell became widely used. Rocks of the Hopewell Group were mapped by Flaherty and Norman (1941), Stewart (1941a, 1941b, 1941c), Evans and Alcock (1945), Alcock and MacKenzie (1946), Hamilton (1961a) and MacKenzie (1964a). Gussow (1953) gave a more complete description of the Hopewell Group than Norman (1941a).

Other Citations:

Alcock and MacKenzie, 1946; Ami, 1902a; Bailey and Ells, 1878; Bell, 1914; Dawson, 1855a; Ells, 1885; Evans and Alcock, 1945; Flaherty and Norman, 1941; Gesner, 1840; Gussow, 1953; Hamilton, 1961a; MacKenzie, 1964a; Norman, 1932, 1941a, 1941b; Stewart, 1941a, 1941b, 1941c; van de Poll, 1967; Wright, 1922; Young, 1912.