Watrous Formation

The Watrous Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Triassic to Jurassic age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

Watrous Formation
Stratigraphic range:
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Upper Watrous Lower Watrous
Thickness	up to 110 metres (360 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Shale, anhydrite
Location
Coordinates	51.2826°N 105.8801°W / 51.2826; -105.8801 (Watrous Formation)
Region	WCSB
Country	Canada
Type section
Named for	Watrous, Saskatchewan
Named by	R.L. Milner and G E. Thomas, 1954

It takes the name from the town of Watrous, and was first described in well Tidewater Davidson Crown No. 1, located south-west from the settlement, by R.L. Milner and G E. Thomas in 1954.

Lithology

Subdivisions

The Watrous Formation is divided into a lower and an upper member. The Lower Watrous is composed of red shale and mudstones with laminated anhydrite interbeds and sandstone and conglomerate in the base. The Upper Watrous is composed of massive anhydrite and only occurs at the rims of the depositional pool.

Distribution

The Watrous Formation occurs in southern Saskatchewan to the border with Manitoba and stretches south into North Dakota. It reaches a maximum thickness of 110 metres (360 ft) on the North Dakota border, and thins out to zero at the margins of the depositional pool.

Relationship to other units

The Watrous Formation fills in the Paleozoic erosional surface, resting disconformably on older strata. It is equivalent to Amaranth Formation in Manitoba and represents a northern extension of the Spearfish Formation in North Dakota. The Upper Watrous can be correlated with the Nesson Formation.