Surficial Geology of the Zama City Area (NTS 84M/SE), Alberta
As part of a
four-year, collaborative, multidisciplinary project initiated in 2003
under the Geological Survey of Canada’s Northern Resource Development
Program (NRD Project 4450), the Geological Survey of Canada (Natural
Resources Canada), Alberta Geological Survey (Alberta Energy and
Utilities Board) and Resource Development and Geoscience Branch
(British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources)
have undertaken extensive Quaternary geology studies in northwestern
Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Within Alberta, NTS map areas
84L (Paulen et al., 2005a, b; Plouffe et al., 2004; Smith et al., 2005a),
M, K and part of N are systematically being studied. The surficial geology
for Zama City (NTS 84M/SE) is jointly published as AGS Map 361 and
Geological Survey of Canada Open File 5184. This joint publication is
part of four maps that completes the surficial mapping for the Bistcho
Lake (NTS 84M) region (Paulen et al., 2006; Plouffe et al., 2006a; Smith
et al., 2006).
A detailed surficial geology map (1:50 000 scale) is also being
constructed for the Moody Creek area (NTS 84M/02), which encompasses
Zama City and the surrounding region of intense energy development (Kowalchuk
et al., in press). Fieldwork was conducted during July, August
and September 2004. Particular attention was paid to surface stratigraphy,
ice flow indicators and the highly variable nature of the surface sediments.
Reconnaissance-level till sampling for diamond indicator minerals and
geochemistry was completed (Plouffe et al., 2006b). Extensive progress
was made in unravelling the glacial and post-glacial history of the region
(Smith et al., 2005b).
Few Quaternary geology studies have examined the northwestern Alberta region in detail. Reports containing information pertinent to the Late Wisconsin glacial history include Taylor (1960), Prest et al. (1968), Mathews (1980), Lemmen et al. (1994), Mandryk (1996) and Dyke (2004). Examination of granular aggregate resources in this area have largely been conducted at the reconnaissance scale, various aspects of which are reported by Richardson (1985), Fox (1986), Fox et al. (1987a, b), and more recently by Edwards et al. (2004) and Smith et al. (2005b). Geotechnical research on surface sediments and permafrost has been conducted along the Norman Wells oil pipeline, which terminates at Zama City (Pilon et al., 1989; Geo-Engineering Ltd., 1992; Nixon and Burgess, 1999). Zoltai (1993) examined the dynamics of peat and permafrost development in the region.
The study area lies within the Fort Nelson Lowlands and Cameron Hills Uplands physiographic regions (Pettapiece, 1986) and is blanketed by Boreal forest (white and black spruce, aspen, lodgepole pine) and extensive bogs and fens. The uplands in the northern portion of the region are characterized by extensive peatlands, underlain by near-surface permafrost conditions. Fluted terrain occurs on the hills with arcuate recessional moraines draped over them. The lowlands to the southeast are characterized by flat topography and expansive fens developed over the glaciolacustrine sediments of glacial Lake Hay which formed during deglaciation. Soils are generally poorly drained, commonly with shallow water tables, reflecting the high clay content of the tills (10-40 %) in which they have formed. In raised areas, where soil development is more advanced, grey luvisols predominate. Static and turbic cryosols are found in regions of sporadic discontinuous permafrost, and solonetzic soils are found in areas of thin drift overlying marine shale bedrock.
Several bedrock outcrops were discovered in the region where previous bedrock topography and drift thickness maps had suggested thick (>250 m) glacial deposits. Poorly indurated shale of the upper Fort St. John Group (Shaftesbury Formation, Lower to Upper Cretaceous) outcrops along the southern edge of the Cameron Hills Upland. Notable glaciofluvial features include sand and gravel that was deposited at the margin of advancing glaciers and subsequently overridden by the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The hamlet of Zama City relies on two pits where these ice-advance gravels are overlain by till. Smaller isolated kames and meltwater channels rarely occur through the map area. These are also potential sources of sand and gravel in a region that has otherwise limited aggregate potential (Smith et al., 2005).
The southwest-advancing Laurentide Ice Sheet inundated northwest Alberta during the Late Wisconsin glaciation. Chronological constraint on the advance of ice is provided by a radiocarbon date of 24 400 ± 150 yr BP (Beta 183598) on wood recovered from gravel underlying Late Wisconsin till in the adjacent region of northeastern British Columbia (Levson et al., 2004). Retreat of ice from the area largely occurred between 11 500 and 11 000 (14C) yr BP (Lemmen et al., 1994; Dyke, 2004). Late Wisconsin ice flow history was reconstructed from streamlined landforms, striated boulder pavements and till pebble fabrics. These observations indicate that ice generally flowed across the region from the east-northeast to the west-southwest during the last glacial event. During deglaciation, thinning ice was strongly affected by topography. In the Fort Nelson Lowland, retreating ice impounded meltwaters and regional drainage, resulting in the formation of glacial Lake Hay (Mathews, 1980). A thin veneer of glaciolacustrine sediments was deposited along the northern margins of the lake. Abundant iceberg scours and a thin deposit of diamicton interpreted to be a till overlying contorted glacial lake sediments indicate that ice readvanced into the glacial lake basin during the latter stages of deglaciation. This was likely a brief local event within glacial Lake Hay prior to its drainage (Paulen et al., 2004).
Extensive permafrost, ground which has been frozen all year round for more than two years, is considered to have existed following deglaciation, as evidenced by widespread polygonal patterning in fine-grained glaciolacustrine sediment and peatlands. While much of this is considered to be relict, discontinuous permafrost is present in the region today as indicated by active thermokarst, which is distinguished by irregular ground surfaces due to the melting of ground ice, and frozen ground encountered below 1.7 m depth. Permafrost is widespread in the Cameron Hills Uplands (Zoltai, 1993). The permafrost terrain in the upland regions is extremely sensitive and susceptible to melting. Disturbance of surface peat with pipeline trenching and seismic line cutting can induce melting of ground ice. Lease sites with fill placed on them also induce melting. Pilings driven into the ground to support pumpjacks act as heat conductors into the permafrost and can cause wellpad subsidence, which potentially can make the producing pumps unstable.
This CD contains the surficial geology map from the surficial mapping program that focused on the southeast portion of the Bistcho Lake map area (NTS 84M/SE). Interim results have been released through presentations and posters at the 2005 Mineral Exploration Roundup in Vancouver (Kowalchuk et al., 2005a), the Calgary Mineral Exploration Group's Calgary Mining Forum (Paulen et al., 2005c), the Geological Association of Canada Annual Meeting (Paulen et al., 2005d) and the Canadian Quaternary Association Biennial Meeting (Kowalchuk et al., 2005b; Paulen et al., 2005e).
Initial preliminary maps were compiled using 1:60 000 scale air photographs flown in 1994, supplemented by LandSat 7 satellite and Shuttle RADAR Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM imagery. After field checking, the revised surficial maps were scanned and vectorized using ArcInfo™. Following review and editing, the final map products were prepared.
This compact disc constitutes release of AGS Map 361 and GSC Open File 5184 prepared for the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board/Alberta Geological Survey (EUB/AGS) and the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) by R.C. Paulen, C.J. Kowalchuk, A. Plouffe, B.C. Ward and I.R. Smith. The intent is to make the maps available in a variety of common digital formats to meet the needs of two groups of users: GIS operators and those requiring an exact version of the published map in a readily printable format. GIS files are available in ArcInfo Export (.e00) and shapefile formats. The printer-ready files are in Adobe's Portable Document Format (.PDF).
A brief description follows of each of the formats and how they may be used.
A freeware version of Adobe® Acrobat Reader® for Microsoft® Windows® is available from Adobe's website at www.adobe.com. Once you have installed Adobe® Acrobat Reader®, you can view the map. To print the map to a plotter, select a 36" x 48" paper size.
Click on the link below to view the map.
Also on the CD is a metadata folder. Metadata, or "data about data," describe the content, quality, condition and other characteristics of the data.
Adobe® Acrobat PDF documents of the published version of the maps allows viewing on any computer capable of running a suitable version of Adobe® Acrobat Reader®.
ArcExport (.e00)
Export files were created from coverages in ArcInfo Version 9.0.
Shapefiles provided were created in ArcView version 3.2a. Metadata for each shapefile are contained in *.txt, *.html and *.xml files.
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A.S. (2004): An outline of North American deglaciation with emphasis
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Fox, J.C. (1986): Aggregate resources of the Bistcho Lake map area, NTS 84M/5-16; Alberta Resource Council, Map A84M05-16, scale 1:250,000.
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Paulen, R.C., Fenton, M.M., Pawlowicz, J.G., Smith, I.R. and Plouffe, A. (2005a): Surficial geology of the Little Hay River area (NTS 84L/NW); Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, EUB/AGS Map 315, scale 1:100 000.
Paulen, R.C., Fenton, M.M., Weiss, J.A., Pawlowicz, J.G., Plouffe, A. and Smith, I.R. (2005b): Surficial geology of the Hay Lake area (NTS 84L/NE); Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, EUB/AGS Map 316, scale 1:100 000.
Paulen, R.C., Smith, I.R., Plouffe, A., Kowalchuk, C., Ward, B.C., Tarplee, M., Fenton, M.M., Pawlowicz, J.G., Peterson, R., Andriashek, L.D. and Bunnell, C. (2005c): Surficial geology of the Bistcho Lake map area (NTS 84M), northwest Alberta; in Program with Abstracts, 14th Annual Calgary Mining Forum, p. 53.
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Plouffe, A., Paulen, R.C. and Smith, I.R. (2006b): Geochemistry and heavy mineral content of glacial sediments from northwest Alberta (NTS 84L, M): new opportunities for mineral exploration; Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, EUB/AGS Special Report 77; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5121, 29 p.
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Paulen, R.C., Kowalchuck, C.J., Plouffe, A., Ward, B.C. and Smith, I.R. (2006): Surficial geology of the Zama City Area (NTS 84M/SE); Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, EUB/AGS Map 361 and Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5184, scale 1:100 000.
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