Unit Name: Adolphus Formation
Unit Type: Lithostratigraphic
Rank: Formation
Status: Formal
Usage: Currently in use
Age Interval: early Late Cambrian - early Late Cambrian (499 - 493 ma)
Age Justification: Scattered Lower Cambrian trilobites belonging to the upper part of the Bonnia-Olenellus Zone; (although originally considered to be Middle Cambrian by Burling (1923).
Province/Territory: Alberta; British Columbia
Originator: Burling, 1923
Type Locality:
Mumm Peak (southeast spur), on Alberta-British Columbia boundary north of Robson Pass and 9 km (5.6 mi) due north of Mount Robson.
Distribution:
122 m (400 ft) of limestone cliffs in Mumm Peak; thought by Burling (1923) to be Middle Cambrian.
Relationship:
Conformably overlies the Mahto Formation and is overlain by the Chetang Formation along a distinct, sharp contact.
History:
Burling replaced the Hota Formation of Walcott (1918) with the Adolphus because he though that Walcott had mis-correlated the Hota of the type section with the Mural. Mountjoy (1962) and others used the term Hota-Adolphus for Hota on the basis of historical priority.
References:
Burling, Lancaster Demorest, 1923. Cambro-Ordovician section near Mount Robson, British Columbia; The Geological Society of America (GSA), GSA Bulletin, vol. 34, no. 4 (December), pp. 721-748.
Mountjoy, E.W., 1962. Mount Robson map-area (southeast), Rocky Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia; Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 61-31.
Source: CSPG Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, Volume 4, western Canada, including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba; D.J. Glass (editor)
Contributor: E.W. Mountjoy
Entry Reviewed: Yes
Name Set: Lithostratigraphic Lexicon
LastChange: 10 Feb 2009