8 Early Paleozoic Flashcards
What happened to Rodinia during this period?
Faulting and thinning that lead to the break up of Rodinia and the onset of continental drift which generated oceanic crust
What is passive margin
This means there was no active tectonics at the time
What kind of post-rifting of Rodinia?
Seafloor spreading (passive subsidence)
What period is Sauk I (Gog group) from?
Early Cambrian
What kind of rock is in the Sauk I (Gog group)?
Mostly sandstones and some clastics
What age range is Sauk I (Gog group) from?
542-513 Ma
Where can you see the Gog Group? (2)
- Western main range of the Canadian Rockies in AB & BC
- Cariboo Mountains and in central Purcell Mountains in SW BC
What sedimentary rocks are in the Gog group?
- Thick cross-bedded quartzite
- Mudstones, siltstones limestone and dolostone
What kind of fossil could you find in the Gog group? (2)
- Trilobite
2.Brachiopod
What is the Cambrian Explosion?
A time when there was an explosion in the number of hard-body organisms we see in the rock record
What’s the first skeletal reef-builder in life history?
Archaeocyathid
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What is the main theory that caused the Cambrian explosion?
Increase in Oxygen
What period is Sauk II (Chancellor Formation) from?
Middle Cambrian
What kind of rocks are in the Sauk II (Chancellor Formation)? (2)
- Fine clastics
- Platform/ shelf/ basin carbonates
Where are the Chancellor Group outcrops? (2)
- Main range of the Canadian Rockies in AB & BC
- Cariboo mountains and in the central Purcell mountains in SW BC
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What is the Kicking Horse Rim?
The transition from deep water shale to sea carbonates in the rock record
What is a good example of the middle Cambrian shallow water platform carbonates?
Castle Mountain
What is the famous middle Cambrian deep water shale?
Burgess Shale
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What creates the cathedral escarpment (kicking horse rim)?
Cambrian and Ordovician Platform to slope change
What period is Kaskaskia I (Fairholme Group) from?
Early and middle Devonian
What kind of rocks are in the Fairholme group?
Platform/shelf/basin carbonates
What notable ocean formation in the Fairholme Group?
Large reefs.
Named the Peace River Arc and Western Alberta Ridge
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