The Pine Point Formation is a stratigraphical

Stratigraphy

Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....

 unit of Givetian age

Geochronology

Geochronology is the science of determining the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments, within a certain degree of uncertainty inherent to the method used. A variety of dating methods are used by geologists to achieve this, and schemes of classification and terminology have been proposed...

 in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin

The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin is a vast sedimentary basin underlying of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. It consists of a massive wedge of sedimentary rock...

.

It takes the name from Pine Point

Pine Point, Northwest Territories

Pine Point was the townsite built at the Pine Point Mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada, which was an open-pit lead and zinc mine.The first buildings were erected in 1952 during the original exploration and development campaign, and even before that a number of log cabins had been built in...

, a promontory (and former townsite) on the south shore of the Great Slave Lake

Great Slave Lake

Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada , the deepest lake in North America at , and the ninth-largest lake in the world. It is long and wide. It covers an area of in the southern part of the territory. Its given volume ranges from to and up to ...

, west of Fort Resolution

Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories

Fort Resolution is a "settlement corporation" in the South Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada...

, and was first described in outcrop on the shore of the lake between Pine Point and Fort Resolution by A.E. Cameron in 1918.

Lithology

The Pine Point Formation is composed of bituminous limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 and calcareous shale

Shale

Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...

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Distribution

The Pine Point Formation reaches a thickness of up to 115 metres (377.3 ft) in its type locality on the shore of the Great Slave Lake.

Relationship to other units

The Pine Point Formation is overlain by the Presqu'ile Formation and Sulphur Point Formation; It conformably overlays the Chinchaga Formation and Fitzgerald Formation.

It is equivalent to Muskeg Formation

Muskeg Formation

The Muskeg Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Givetian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the Muskeg arctic soil that covers the northern reaches of western Canada, and was first described in the California Standard Steen River 2-22-117-5W6M well by J...

 in northern Alberta

Northern Alberta

Northern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Its primary industry is oil and gas, with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca Oil Sands and Wabasca Area in the east of the region...

, the Dunedin Formation in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and the upper Nahanni Formation

Nahanni Formation

The Nahanni Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Givetian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from Nahanni Butte, a proeminent ridge at the confluence of the South Nahanni River and Liard River, and was first described in outcrop on the south face of the mountain by C.O...

 in western Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

.

Subdivisions

The Pine Point has group status in the southern Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

, and includes:

• Buffalo River Member
• Horn River Formation
  Horn River Formation
  The Horn River Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Devonian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the Horn River, a tributary of the Mackenzie River, and was first described in outrop on the banks of Horn River in the Northwest Territories by Whittaker in 1922...
  
   shale tongues
• Keg River Formation
  Keg River Formation
  The Keg River Formation is a stratigraphical unit of Givetian age in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.It takes the name from the Keg River, a tributary of the Peace River, and was first described in the California Standard Steen River 2-22-117-5W6M well by J...
  
  platform facies was include din the group before 1975