Type Locality:

Type sections were established for each of the four formations that comprise the Eureka Sound Group: from oldest to youngest, the Expedition, Strand Bay, Iceberg Bay and Buchanan Lake formations (Ricketts, 1986).

Distribution:

The Eureka Sound Group extends from Ellef Ringness Island in the west to the eastern side of Ellesmere Island in the East (Ricketts, 1986).

Lithology:

The Eureka Sound Group is comprised of shale, sandstone and conglomerate, with coal seams at several horizons throughout (Ricketts, 1986).

Relationship:

Conformably overlies marine shales of the Kanguk Formation in the central and southern parts of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago; on the northern margin of the Archipelago (northern Ellef Ringnes and Meighen Islands) it rests unconformably on Mesozoic strata and on the eastern margin (eastern Ellesmere Island) it lies unconformably on Mesozoic and Paleozoic or Proterozoic rocks. Notable exceptions to the above generalizations occur along the flanks of northwest trending Cornwall (central Cornwall and Amund Ringnes Island) and Princess Margaret (central Axel Heiberg Island) Arches where the Eureka Sound Group rests unconformably on Mesozoic strata. The Eureka Sound Group is unconformably overlain by the Beaufort Formation on northern-most Ellesmere and Banks Islands and in the subsurface of Banks, Meighen and northern Ellef Ringnes Island.

History:

Troelsen (1950) proposed the name Eureka Sound Group for deposits of sandstone, shale and lignite outcropping on Ellesmere island. He considered these deposits to be Cenozoic in age and younger than the last major orogeny. As a result of field work during Operation Franklin, Tozer (1963a) suggested the Eureka Sound Group be called a formation and Souther (1963) designated as the type section approximately 2,700 m of interbedded sandstone, shale, mudstone and coal of Eocene and Paleocene age conformably overlying the Kanguk Formation on western Axel Heiberg Island. Ricketts (1986) defined four formations (Expedition, Strand Bay, Iceberg Bay and Buchanan Lake) within the Eureka Sound, which he raised to a Group. Independently of Ricketts (1986), Miall (1986) defined nine formations (Mount Bell, Vesle Fiord, Mount Lawson, Mount Moore, Margaret, Mokka Fiord, Boulder Hills, Cape Back and Cape Lawrence) within the Eureka Sound, .

Remark:

Supercedes the Eureka Sound Formation

References:

Ricketts, B.D. and McIntyre, D.J. 1986. The Eureka Sound Group of Eastern Axel Heiberg Island; new data on the Eurekan Orogeny. In Current Research, part B, Geological Survey of Canada Paper 86-1B, pages 405-410.

Ricketts, B.D., 1986. New formations in the Eureka Sound Group, Canadian Arctic Islands; in, Current Research, Part B; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 86-1B, pp. 363-374.

Souther, J.G., 1963. Geological traverse across Axel Heiberg Island from Buchanan Lake to Strand Fiord; pp. 426-448: in Fortier, Y.O. et al. , Geology of the north-central part of the Arctic Archipelago, N.W.T. (Operation Franklin), Geological Survey of Canada

Tozer, E.T., 1963a, Mesozoic and Tertiary stratigraphy, pp. 74-95: in Fortier, Y.O. et al., Geology of the north-central part of the Arctic Archipelago (Operation Franklin), Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 320, 671 p.

Troelsen, J.C., 1950. Contributions to the geology of Northwest Greenland, Ellesmere Island, and Axel Heiberg Island: Meddelelser om Gronland, vol. 149, no. 7.