Horseshoe Canyon Formation
{{Short description|Geological formation in Canada}}
{{Infobox rockunit
| name = Horseshoe Canyon Formation
| image = Horseshoe Canyon Alberta Nov 1988.jpg
| caption = Horseshoe Canyon Formation at Horsethief Canyon, near Drumheller. The dark bands are coal seams.
| type = Geological formation
| age = Campanian-Maastrichtian
~{{Fossil range|73.1|68}}{{Cite journal |last1=Eberth |first1=David A. |last2=Kamo |first2=Sandra L. |date=October 2020 |title=High-precision U–Pb CA–ID–TIMS dating and chronostratigraphy of the dinosaur-rich Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Campanian–Maastrichtian), Red Deer River valley, Alberta, Canada |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2019-0019 |journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=57 |issue=10 |pages=1220–1237 |doi=10.1139/cjes-2019-0019 |bibcode=2020CaJES..57.1220E |issn=0008-4077|url-access=subscription }}
| period = Maastrichtian
| prilithology = Sandstone
| otherlithology = Shale, coal
| namedfor = Horseshoe Canyon
| namedby = E.J.W. Irish, 1970
| region = Alberta
| country = Canada
| coordinates = {{Coord|51|25|24|N|112|53|18|W|name=Horseshoe Canyon|display=inline,title}}
| unitof = Edmonton Group
| subunits =Strathmore Member, Drumheller Member, Horsethief Member, Morrin Member, Tolman Member, Carbon Member, Whitemud Member
| underlies = Battle Formation, Scollard Formation
| overlies = Bearpaw Formation
| extent =
| area =
}}
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southwestern Alberta.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/abstracts/MAP_600.html|title=Bedrock Geology of Alberta. Alberta Geological Survey, Map 600|author=Prior, G. J., Hathaway, B., Glombick, P.M., Pana, D.I., Banks, C.J., Hay, D.C., Schneider, C.L., Grobe, M., Elgr, R., and Weiss, J.A.|year=2013|access-date=2013-08-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705151548/http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/abstracts/MAP_600.html|archive-date=2013-07-05}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/wcsb_atlas/a_ch24/ch_24.html|title=The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Chapter 24: Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin|author=Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I., (compilers), Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists|year=1994|access-date=2013-08-01|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721174353/http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/wcsb_atlas/a_ch24/ch_24.html|archive-date=2013-07-21}} It takes its name from Horseshoe Canyon, an area of badlands near Drumheller.
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is part of the Edmonton Group. In its type section (Red Deer River Valley at Drumheller), it is ~{{Convert|250|m|ft}} thick, but further west the formation is older and thicker, exceeding {{Convert|500|m|ft}} near Calgary.{{Cite journal |last1=Eberth |first1=David A. |last2=Braman |first2=Dennis R. |date=September 2012 |title=A revised stratigraphy and depositional history for the Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Upper Cretaceous), southern Alberta plains |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e2012-035 |journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=49 |issue=9 |pages=1053–1086 |doi=10.1139/e2012-035 |bibcode=2012CaJES..49.1053E |issn=0008-4077|url-access=subscription }} It is of Late Cretaceous age, Campanian to early Maastrichtian stage (Edmontonian Land-Mammal Age), and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, carbonaceous shales, and coal seams. A variety of depositional environments are represented in the succession, including floodplains, estuarine channels, and coal swamps, which have yielded a diversity of fossil material. Tidally-influenced estuarine point bar deposits are easily recognizable as Inclined Heterolithic Stratification (IHS). Brackish-water trace fossil assemblages occur within these bar deposits and demonstrate periodic incursion of marine waters into the estuaries.
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation crops out extensively in the area around Drumheller, as well as farther north along the Red Deer River near Trochu and along the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton. It is overlain by the Battle and Scollard formations. The Drumheller Coal Zone, located in the lower part of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, was mined for sub-bituminous coal in the Drumheller area from 1911 to 1979, and the Atlas Coal Mine in Drumheller has been preserved as a National Historic Site.{{cite web|title=Mine History |url=http://www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca/history.html |publisher=Atlas Coal Mine National Historic Site |access-date=9 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823212059/http://www.atlascoalmine.ab.ca/history.html |archive-date=23 August 2010 }} In more recent times, the Horseshoe Canyon Formation has become a major target for coalbed methane (CBM) production.
File:Bearpaw-Horseshoe Canyon.jpg
Dinosaurs found in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation include Albertavenator, Albertosaurus, Anchiceratops, Anodontosaurus, Arrhinoceratops, Atrociraptor, Epichirostenotes, Edmontonia, Edmontosaurus, Hypacrosaurus, Ornithomimus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Parksosaurus, Saurolophus, and Struthiomimus. Other finds have included mammals such as Didelphodon coyi, non-dinosaur reptiles, amphibians, fish, marine and terrestrial invertebrates and plant fossils. Reptiles such as turtles and crocodilians are rare in the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, and this was thought to reflect the relatively cool climate which prevailed at the time. A study by Quinney et al. (2013) however, showed that the decline in turtle diversity, which was previously attributed to climate, coincided instead with changes in soil drainage conditions, and was limited by aridity, landscape instability, and migratory barriers.{{cite journal | last1 = Quinney | first1 = Annie | last2 = Therrien | first2 = François | last3 = Zelenitsky | first3 = Darla K. | last4 = Eberth | first4 = David A. | year = 2013 | title = Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the Upper Cretaceous (late Campanian–early Maastrichtian) Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Alberta, Canada | journal = Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology | volume = 371 | pages = 26–44 | doi = 10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.12.009 | bibcode = 2013PPP...371...26Q }}
Oil/gas production
The Drumheller Coal Zone has been a primary coalbed methane target for industry. In the area between Bashaw and Rockyford, the Coal Zone lies at relatively shallow depths (about 300 metres) and is about 70 to 120 metres thick. It contains 10 to 20 metres of cumulative coal, in up to 20 or more individual thin seams interbedded with sandstone and shale, which combine to make an attractive multi-completion CBM drilling target. In total, it is estimated there are 14 trillion cubic metres (500 tcf) of gas in place in all the coal in Alberta.
Biostratigraphy
The timeline below follows work by David A. Eberth and Sandra L. Kamo published in 2019.{{cite journal | url=https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjes-2019-0019#.XuGwP-fQ_BV | title=High-precision U-Pb CA-ID-TIMS dating and chronostratigraphy of the dinosaur-rich Horseshoe Canyon Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Campanian–Maastrichtian), Red Deer River valley, Alberta, Canada | last1=Eberth | first1=David A. | last2=Kamo | first2=Sandra | journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences | year=2019 | volume=57 | issue=10 | pages=1220–1237 | doi=10.1139/cjes-2019-0019| bibcode=2020CaJES..57.1220E | s2cid=210299227 | url-access=subscription }}
ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px
PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px
Period = from:-73.2 till:-67.2
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:-73.2
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-73.2
TimeAxis = orientation:hor
AlignBars = justify
Colors =
#legends
id:CAR value:claret
id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196)
id:HER value:teal
id:HAD value:green
id:OMN value:blue
id:black value:black
id:white value:white
id:cretaceous value:rgb(0.675,0.675,0.35)
id:jurassic value:rgb(0.753,0.753,0.486)
id:triassic value:rgb(0.827,0.827,0.65)
id:mesozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258)
BarData=
bar:eratop
bar:space
bar:periodtop
bar:space
bar:NAM1
bar:NAM2
bar:NAM3
bar:NAM4
bar:NAM5
bar:NAM6
bar:NAM7
bar:NAM8
bar:NAM9
bar:NAM10
bar:NAM11
bar:NAM12
bar:NAM13
bar:NAM14
bar:space
bar:period
bar:space
bar:era
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
shift:(7,-4)
bar:periodtop
from: -68.0 till: -67.2 color:triassic text:-
from: -73.2 till: -68.0 color:jurassic text:Horseshoe Canyon Formation
bar:eratop
from: -72.1 till: -67.2 color:mesozoic text:Maastrichtian
from: -73.2 till: -72.1 color:cretaceous text:Campanian
PlotData=
align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left
color:HER bar:NAM1 from:-72.7 till:-71.9 text:Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis
color:CAR bar:NAM2 from:-72.6 till:-70.9 text:Struthiomimus sp.
color:CAR bar:NAM3 from:-72.5 till:-69.6 text:Ornithomimus edmontonicus
color:ANK bar:NAM4 from:-72.2 till:-70.8 text:Anodontosaurus lambei
color:HER bar:NAM5 from:-72.6 till:-70.3 text:Anchiceratops ornatus
color:HAD bar:NAM6 from:-73.0 till:-71.5 text:Edmontosaurus regalis
color:CAR bar:NAM7 from:-73.0 till:-69.6 text:Albertosaurus sarcophagus
color:ANK bar:NAM8 from:-71.8 till:-71.5 text:Edmontonia longiceps
color:HER bar:NAM9 from:-72.3 till:-70.5 text:Arrhinoceratops brachyops
color:HAD bar:NAM10 from:-71.5 till:-69.6 text:Hypacrosaurus altispinus
color:HAD bar:NAM11 from:-70.9 till:-69.6 text:Saurolophus osborni
color:HER bar:NAM12 from:-70.8 till:-70.5 text:Sphaerotholus edmontonense
color:HER bar:NAM13 from:-70.9 till:-69.8 text:Parksosaurus warreni
color:HER bar:NAM14 from:-68.9 till:-68.6 text:Eotriceratops xerinsularis
PlotData=
align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25
bar:period
from: -68.0 till: -67.2 color:triassic text:-
from: -68.2 till: -68.0 color:jurassic text:Whitemud M.
from: -69.6 till: -68.2 color:triassic text:Carbon M.
from: -70.9 till: -69.6 color:jurassic text:Tolman M.
from: -71.5 till: -70.9 color:triassic text:Morrin M.
from: -72.3 till: -71.5 color:jurassic text:Horsethief M.
from: -73.2 till: -72.3 color:triassic text:Drumheller M.
bar:era
from: -72.1 till: -67.2 color:mesozoic text:Maastrichtian
from: -73.2 till: -72.1 color:cretaceous text:Campanian
Dinosaurs
= Ornithischians =
== Ankylosaurs ==
== Hadrosaurs ==
class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |
colspan="7" align="center" |Hadrosaurs reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation |
---|
Genus
! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Material ! Notes !Images |
Edmontosaurus
| | | Horsethief; likely present in Drumheller. | | |
Hypacrosaurus
| H. altispinus | | Morrin and Tolman. | "[Five to ten] articulated skulls, some associated with postcrania, isolated skull elements, isolated postcranial elements, many individuals, embryo to adult.""Table 20.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 441. | |
Saurolophus
| S. osborni | | Upper Morrin and Tolman. | "Complete skull and skeleton, [two] complete skulls." | |
== Marginocephalians ==
=== Ceratopsians ===
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
=== Pachycephalosaurs ===
== Thescelosaurs ==
class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |
colspan="7" align="center" |Thescelosaurids reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation |
---|
Genus
! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Material ! Notes ! Images |
Parksosaurus
| P. warreni | | Tolman | A partially articulated skeleton and partial skull. | A thescelosaurid neornithischian. | File:Parksosaurus_warreni,_Near_Drumheller,_Alberta,_Canada,_Late_Cretaceous_-_Royal_Ontario_Museum_-_DSC00035.JPG|frameless]] |
= Theropods =
== Maniraptorans ==
== Ornithomimids ==
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |
colspan="7" align="center" |Ornithomimids reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation |
---|
Genus
! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Material ! Notes !Images |
Dromiceiomimus
| D. brevitertius | | | Several specimens. type specimen | An ornithomimid |
rowspan=2|
|style="background:#E6E6E6;"| O. currelli |style="background:#E6E6E6;"| |style="background:#E6E6E6;"| |style="background:#E6E6E6;"| |style="background:#E6E6E6;"| Junior synonym of O. edmontonicus | |
O. edmontonicus
| | Drumheller, Horsethief, Morrin, and Tolman | Several specimens, type specimen | An ornithomimid |
Struthiomimus
| S. altus | | Drumheller, Horsethief, and Morrin | | An ornithomimid |
== Tyrannosaurs ==
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
Other animals
=Mammals=
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
class="wikitable" align="center" width="100%" |
colspan="7" align="center" |Mammals reported from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation |
---|
Genus
! Species ! Location ! Stratigraphic position ! Material ! Notes ! Images |
rowspan=1|
DidelphodonR. C. Fox and B. G. Naylor. 1986. A new species of Didelphodon Marsh (Marsupialia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada: paleobiology and phylogeny. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 172(3):357-380 | D. coyi | | | | |File:Didelphodon NT small.jpg|frameless]] |
=Other reptiles=
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
=Fish=
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
See also
{{Portal|Earth sciences|Paleontology|Dinosaurs||}}
{{Clear}}
References
{{Reflist}}
= Bibliography =
- Makovicky, P. J., 2001, A Montanoceratops cerorhynchus (Dinosauria: Ceratopsia) braincase from the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, pp. 243–262.
- Varricchio, D. J. 2001. Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Theropoda) dinosaurs from Montana. pp. 42–57 in D. H. Tanke and K. Carpenter (eds.), Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, Indiana.
- Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. {{ISBN|0-520-24209-2}}.
{{Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin|Central_Plains=yes}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Maastrichtian Stage of North America
Category:Upper Cretaceous Series of North America
Category:Sandstone formations of Canada
Category:Shale formations of Canada
Category:Reservoir rock formations
Category:Source rock formations
Category:Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin