Saskatchewan Group


The Saskatchewan Group is a stratigraphical unit of Frasnian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
It takes the name from the province of Saskatchewan, and was first described in the Mobil Oil Woodley Sinclair Cantuar X-2-21 well by A.D Baillie in 1953.

Lithology

The Saskatchewan Group is composed of carbonates with thin evaporites.

Distribution

The Saskatchewan Group reaches a maximum thickness of. It is present in the sub-surface throughout the Williston Basin.

Subdivisions

The Saskatchewan Group contains the following formations, from top to base:
Sub-unitAgeLithologyMax.
Thickness
Reference
Birdbear FormationFrasnianUpper: dolomite with evaporite interbeds
Lower: non-argillaceous limestone and dolomite
Duperow FormationFrasnianlimestone and dolomite, anhydrite, halite; up to 27 depositional cycles

Relationship to other units

The Saskatchewan Group is conformably overlain by the Three Forks Group and conformably overlays the Manitoba Group carbonates.
It is equivalent to the upper Beaverhill Lake Formation, the Woodbend Group and the lower part of the Winterburn Group in central Alberta, and with the Jefferson Group in Montana and North Dakota.