Whittaker Formation

Unit Name: Whittaker Formation
Unit Type: Lithostratigraphic
Rank: Formation
Status: Formal
Usage: Currently in use
Age Interval: Late Ordovician - Silurian (460.9 - 416 ma)
Age Justification: Brachiopods, ostracodes, corals, trilobites and graptolites including the Strophomena ceraurus, the Bighornia thaerodonta and Hesparorthis oepikirna faunas (Ludvigsen, 1975).
Province/Territory: Northwest Territories

Originator: Douglas and Norris, 1961.

Type Locality:

East flank of the Whittaker Range, District of Mackenzie (section at approx. 62°28'N, 124°47'W and 62°31'N, 124°27'W).

Distribution:

It is 1,240 m (4,070 ft) in the Whittaker Range and reflecting the thick Whittaker development in the Root River Basin. The Whittaker thins northward and westward (e.g. 457 m; 1500 ft) thick near North Nahanni River; 335 m (1,100 ft) near lat. 63°30'N, and 417 m (1369 ft) at the northern end of the Thundercloud Range. The formation extends throughout the Mackenzie Mountains and southeastern Yukon (east flank of the Selwyn Basin).

Lithology:

Limestones, dolomites and shales. In the type section the formation is divisible into three units listed in ascending order: 1) 402 m (1,320 ft) dark grey, fine- to medium-grained, thinly bedded, grey weathering limestone; 2) 262 m (860 ft) mainly fine-grained, dark grey, medium- to thick-bedded dark grey to light grey weathering, sparsely cherty, in part fossiliferous dolomite; and 3) 576 m (1,890 ft) dark grey to greyish-black, fine-grained and platy to thinly bedded limestone with alternating thin interbeds of dark grey and black siltstone in the basal part. These divisions are essentially the same on Pastel Creek, Delorme Range.

Relationship:

The Whittaker Formation conformably overlies the Sunblood and Esbataottine formations in the Root Basin and in the Selwyn Basin. It unconformably overlies older strata over the Redstone arch. It is conformably overlain by the Delorme Formation in all areas. It is in part equivalent to the Mount Kindle Formation of the Franklin Mountain Platform. West of the Natla River near 128°50'W, it passes laterally to black graptolitic shales and shaly limestones of the Road River Formation.

Other Citations:

Blusson, 1971; Copeland, 1974, 1977, 1978; Douglas and Norris, 1963; Gabrielse, 1967a; Gabrielse et al., 1965; Gabrielse et al., 1973; Jackson, 1978; Ludvigsen, 1978; Nassichuk and Bamber, 1978; Tipnis et al., 1978.

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.

Copeland, M.J., 1974. Middle Ordovician ostracoda from southwestern District of Mackenzie; Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 244, 55 p.

Copeland, M.J., 1977. Early Paleozoic ostracoda from southwestern District of Mackenzie and Yukon Temtory; Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 275, 88 p.

Copeland, M.J., 1978. Early Paleozoic ostracode assemblages, northwestern Canada; pp. 93-111: in Stelck, C.R. and Chatterton, B.D.E. (eds.) Western and Arctic Canadian Biostratigraphy, Geological Association of Canada Special Paper no. 18, 602 p.

Douglas, R.J.W. and Norris, D.K., 1961. Camsell Bend and Root River map-areas, Northwest Territories; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 61-13, 36 p.

Douglas, R.J.W. and Norris, D.K., 1963. Dahadinni River and Wrigley map-areas, District of Mackenzie, Northwest Territories; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 62-33, 34 p.

Gabrielse, H., 1967a. Tectonic evolution of the northern Canadian Cordillera; Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences = Journal Canadien des Sciences de la Terre, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 271-298.

Gabrielse, H., Blusson, S.L., and Roddick, J.A., 1973. Geology of the Flat River, Glacier Lake and Wrigley Lake map-areas, District of Mackenzie and Yukon Territory; Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 366 (Parts I and II), 421 p.

Gabrielse, H., Roddick, J.A., and Blusson, S. L., 1965. Flat River, Glacier Lake and Wrigley Lake, District of Mackenzie and Yukon Territory, 95E, 95L and 95M (Report and Maps 35-1964, 36-1964, and 37-1964); Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 64-52, 30 p. + Preliminary Map 35-1964, Geology, Flat River, Yukon Territory - District of Mackenzie, Scale 1:253 440 or 1 inch to 4 miles, Preliminary Map 36-1964, Geology, Glacier Lake, District of Mackenzie, Scale 1:253 440 or 1 inch to 4 miles, and Preliminary Map 37-1964, Geology, Wrigley Lake, District of Mackenzie, Scale 1:253 440 or 1 inch to 4 miles.

Jackson, D.E., 1978. Recent developments in graptolite research; pp. 113-131: in Stelck, C.R. and Chatterton, B.D.E. (eds,), Western and Arctic Canadia Biostratigraphy, Geological Association of Canada Special Paper no. 18, 602 p.

Ludvigsen, R., 1975. Ordovician formations and faunas, southern Mackenzie Mountains; Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences = Journal Canadien des Sciences de la Terre, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 663-697.

Ludvigsen, R., 1978. Middle Ordovician trilobite biofacies, southern Mackenzie Mountains; p. 1-38: in Stelck, C.R. and Chatterton, B.D.E. (eds.), Western and Arctic Canadian Biostratigraphy, Geological Association of Canada Special Paper, no. 18, 602 p.

Nassichuk, W.W. and Bamber, E.W., 1978. Middle Pennsylvania biostratigraphy, Eastern Cordillera and Arctic Islands, Canada, pp. 395-413: in Stelck, C.R. and Chatterton, B.D.E. (eds.), Western and Arctic Canadian Biostratigraphy, Geological Association of

Tipnis, R.S., Chatterton, B.D.E., and Ludvigsen, R., 1978. Ordovician conodont biostratigraphy of the southern District of Mackenzie, Canada; pp. 39-91: in Stelck, C.R. and Chatterton, B.D.E. (eds.), Western and Arctic Canadian Biostratigraphy, Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper no. 18, 602 p.

Source: CSPG Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, Volume 2, Yukon Territory and District of Mackenzie; L.V. Hills, E.V. Sangster and L.B. Suneby (editor)
Contributor: L.V. Hills; D.W. Morrow
Entry Reviewed: Yes
Name Set: Lithostratigraphic Lexicon
LastChange: 01 Dec 2010