The Mannville Group is a stratigraphical unit of

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

in the

Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...

. It takes the name from the town of

Mannville, Alberta Mannville is a village in central Alberta, Canada. It is located at the intersection of the Yellowhead Highway and Highway 881, approximately west of Vermilion, Alberta, Vermilion and east of Edmonton, Alberta, Edmonton. Its primary industry is ...

, and was first described in the ''Northwest Mannville 1'' well by A.W. Nauss in 1945.

Lithology

The Mannville Group consists of interbedded continental

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

and

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

in the base, followed by a calcareous sandstone member,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

shale,

glauconitic Glauconite is an iron potassium phyllosilicate (mica group) mineral of characteristic green color which is very friable and has very low weathering resistance. It crystallizes with a monoclinic geometry. Its name is derived from the Greek () me ...

sandstone and salt and pepper sandstone. An additional non-marine sequence is present in north-eastern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Hydrocarbon production

Bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

is produced from the McMurray Formation at the Athabasca Oil Sands. Heavy Oil is produced from the Wabiskaw Member of the

Clearwater Formation The Clearwater Formation is a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous (Albian) Geochronology, age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northeastern Alberta, Canada. It was first defined by R.G. ...

in the

Wabasca oil field Wabasca is an oil field in a remote area of northern Alberta, Canada. It is the fourth largest deposit of oil sands located in Alberta, located southwest of the larger Athabasca oil sands deposit. It is also known as the ''Pelican Lake Oilfield'' ...

, and from multiple formations in the

Lloydminster Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administrati ...

and Provost areas in eastern

and western

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. Natural gas is extracted from the Ostracod and Glauconite beds in

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and southern Alberta. Multiple oil fields and gas fields tap into the Manville Group. Total gas reserves amount to 316,799 x 10⁶m³ in the Lower Mannville and 644,774 x 10⁶m³ in the Upper Mannville. Recoverable oil reserves amount to 105.64 x 10⁶m³ in the Lower Mannville and 199.20 x 10⁶m³ in the Upper Mannville.

Distribution

The Mannville Group reaches a thickness of in its type locality. It occurs in the sub-surface in

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordere ...

, extending east-west from

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and north-south from the Deep Basin to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

border. It is present in the sub-surface in west-central and southern

Relationship to other units

The Mannville Group is discomformably overlain by the Joli Fou Formation shale of the

Colorado Group Colorado is a geologic name applied to certain rocks of Cretaceous age in the North America, particularly in the western Great Plains. This name was originally applied to classify a group of specific marine formations of shale and chalk kn ...

. It rests unconformably on the older

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

carbonates. It is correlated with the lower

Blairmore Group The Blairmore Group, originally named the Blairmore Formation, is a geologic unit of Early Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in southwestern Alberta and southeastern British Columbia. It is subdivided into ...

in the

Canadian Rockies The Canadian Rockies (french: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part ...

foothills and to the

Bullhead Group Bullhead Group is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin of northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta. It was first defined by F.H. McLearn in 1918 as the Bullhead Mountain Formation, but later ...

and the Spirit River Formation of the Fort St. John Group in north-western Alberta. It is also equivalent to the

Cantuar Formation The Mannville Group is a stratigraphical unit of Cretaceous age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the town of Mannville, Alberta, and was first described in the ''Northwest Mannville 1'' well by A.W. Nauss in 1945 ...

and the Swan River Formation in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Subunits

The Mannville Group includes the following sub-units:

Central and southern Alberta

*In

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.Lower Cretaceous Series of North America Stratigraphy of Alberta