The Woodbend Group is a

stratigraphical Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrati ...

unit of

Frasnian The Frasnian is one of two faunal stages in the Late Devonian Period. It lasted from million years ago to million years ago. It was preceded by the Givetian Stage and followed by the Famennian Stage. Major reef-building was under way during 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. It was first described in the ''British American Pyrcz No. 1'' well by

Imperial Oil Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...

geological staff in 1950.

Lithology

The Formation is composed of crystalline and

dolomitized Dolomitization is a geological process by which the carbonate mineral dolomite is formed when magnesium ions replace calcium ions in another carbonate mineral, calcite. It is common for this mineral alteration into dolomite to take place due to e ...

limestone ( Cooking Lake Formation) in off-reef areas, bituminous

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 ...

and argillaceous limestone, detrital limestone (reef fallout),

stromatoporoid Stromatoporoidea is an extinct clade of sea sponges common in the fossil record from the Ordovician through the Devonian. They were especially abundant and important reef-formers in the Silurian and most of the Devonian.Stock, C.W. 2001, Stro ...

calcarenite ( Duvernay Formation), gray shale, argillaceous limestone, argillaceous

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

, crystalline dolomite ( Ireton Formation). In reef build-ups, it consists of massive limestone and dolomite with porosity (

Leduc Formation The Leduc Formation is a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic unit of Late Devonian (Frasnian) Geochronology, age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes its name from the city of Leduc, Alberta, Leduc, and it w ...

Hydrocarbon production

Oil is produced from the

in central Alberta since the early 1950s. Shale gas and liquids are extracted from the Duvernay Formation using horizontal drilling and multi-stage

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

. Several project test the economic viability of extracting

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 ...

from the

Grosmont Formation The Grosmont Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the hamlet of Grosmont, Alberta, and was first described in well Imperial Grosmont No. 1, in 13-17-67-23W4M, cent ...

Distribution

The Woodbend Group reaches a maximum thickness of in northern Alberta (where reefs were developed), and has typical thickness of in

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and central Alberta. It extends laterally from north-eastern British Columbia through Alberta and into southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Reef build-ups range in size from small mounds to pinnacle reefs and large atoll size reefs and bank developments.

Subdivisions

;Central Alberta In central Alberta the following formations are recognized, from top to bottom: ;Northeast Alberta In northeast Alberta the following formations are recognized, from top to bottom:

Relationship to other units

The Woodbend Group is conformably overlain by the

Winterburn Group The Winterburn Group is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from Winterburn area located west of Edmonton, and was first described in well ''P.A. Pyrcz No. 1'' by Imperial Oil Limi ...

and conformably overlays the

Beaverhill Lake Group The Beaverhill Lake Group is a geologic unit of Middle Devonian to Late Devonian (late Givetian to Frasnian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in the southwestern Northwest Territories, northeastern British Columbia and A ...

. It is

transgressive Transgressive may mean: *Transgressive art, a name given to art forms that violate perceived boundaries *Transgressive fiction, a modern style in literature *Transgressive Records, a United Kingdom-based independent record label *Transgressive (l ...

in the

Peace River Arch Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

and Tathlina uplift. Newer deposits rest on the Woodbend group upon an erosional surface in eastern Alberta, south-central Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is equivalent to the Birdbear Formation and Duperow Formation in northern Montana, southern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba, as well as parts of the

Fort Simpson Formation The Fort Simpson Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the settlement of Fort Simpson, and was first described in well Briggs Turkey Lake No. 1 (located south-east ...

and

Muskwa Formation The Muskwa Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from Muskwa River, and was first described in the Western National Gas Fort Nelson a-95-J/94-J-10 well by F.F. Gray and J ...

of northeastern British Columbia and southern Yukon, while it corresponds to the Tathlina Formation,

Twin Falls Formation The Twin Falls Formation is a geologic formation in Northwest Territories. It preserves fossils dating back to the Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end ...

and

Hay River Formation The Hay River Formation is a geologic formation in Northwest Territories. It preserves fossils dating back to the Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end o ...

in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

References

{{Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, Northeast_Plains=yes, Northwest_Plains=yes, South AB=yes Devonian Alberta Devonian British Columbia Devonian Saskatchewan Devonian Manitoba Devonian Northwest Territories Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin Devonian System of North America Geologic groups of Alberta Geologic groups of British Columbia Geologic groups of Saskatchewan Geologic groups of Manitoba Geologic groups of the Northwest Territories Devonian southern paleotropical deposits Frasnian Stage Geologic groups of Yukon