Type Locality:

The type section for the Vampire formation is in the southwestern part of Mackenzie mountains where the South Nahanni Anticline is crossed by the South Nahanni River. The section is on a high slope overlooking the river from the southeast and 7 km southwest of the point where the course of the South Nahanni River turns abruptly from east-northeast to southeast. The centre of the section is at 62°21'30"N and 127°56'30"W (Fritz, 1982).

Distribution:

Its best exposures are along South Nahanni Anticline. It also cores the Sapper Anticline and is extensive in the southeastern quarter of the Nahanni (105I) map area (Gordey and Anderson, 1993). The type section has a total thickness of 930 m (Fritz, 1982).

Locality Data:

Thickness(m): Typical 930.

Lithology:

The Vampire Formation comprises dark coloured siltstone and interbedded, very fine- to fine-grained quartzite, both of which weather a dark rust. The quartzites are a dark rust with minor areas of orange, medium brownish grey, and light brown. The bedding is thin to thick, blocky, and planar laminae are visible on some beds, especially the thinner ones. Load casts, ball and pillow structures, and penecontemporaneous folds are present at some levels. Fresh quartzite surfaces are medium grey, greenish grey or light brownish grey, and the quartzite is very fine- to fine-grained. The siltstone weathers medium brownish grey, greenish grey or rust. Fresh surfaces are medium grey or greenish grey. Very fine grained sandstone is commonly intermixed with the siltstone (Fritz, 1982).

Relationship:

The Vampire Formation is underlain abruptly and conformably by an orange weathering dolomitic sandstone bed in the predominantly dolomitic middle member of the Backbone Ranges Formation. It is abruptly but conformably overlain by maroon and orange weathering limy nodular siltstone of the basal Sekwi Formation. The Vampire Formation at the type section is clearly the lateral equivalent of the upper member of the Backbone Ranges Formation at its type section and in the Broken Skull Anticline (Fritz, 1982). In Sekwi Mountain (105P) map area topmost beds of the upper Backbone Ranges Formation are replaced by a tongue of fine clastics belonging to the Vampire Formation (unit 13 of Blusson, 1971). The tongue separates sandstone of the upper Backbone Ranges Formation (unit 12 of Blusson, 1971) from the overlying Sekwi Formation. In southwestern Nahanni (105I) map area scant trace scant trace fossils suggest that the Vampire Formation is equivalent to maroon to dark grey weathering fine clastics of the Narchilla Formation (Fritz et al., 1983) (Gordey and Anderson, 1993).

History:

The formation name is taken from Vampire Peaks, which are numerous rock spires that stand along the South Nahanni Anticline. The spires start at the South Nahanni River and extend 15 km to the southeast (Fritz, 1982).

References:

Blusson, S.L., 1971. Sekwi Mountain map-area, Yukon Territory and District of Mackenzie (105 P); Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 71-22, 17 p. + "A" Series Map 1333A, Geology, Sekwi Mountain, Northwest Territories - Yukon Territories; Scale: 1:250 000.

Fritz, W.H., 1982. Vampire Formation, a new Upper Precambrian(?)/Lower Cambrian formation, Mackenzie Mountains, Yukon and Northwest Territories, Project 650024, in, Current research, Part B, Regional Geology, Cordilleran Region, Christie, R.L., Dumych, H., Griffin, P.J., Machan, L., Morgan, W.C., and Vincent, L.E. (Eds. and Compilers); Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 82-1B, pp. 83-92.

Fritz, W.H., Narbonne, G., and Gordey, S.P., 1983. Strata and trace fossils near the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary, Mackenzie, Selwyn, and Wernecke mountains, Yukon and Northwest Territories; in, Current Research, Part B, Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 83-1B, p. 365-375.

Gordey, S.P. and Anderson, R.G., 1993. Evolution of the northern Cordilleran miogeocline, Nahanni map area (105I), Yukon Territory and District of Mackenzie; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 428, 214 p.