The Milk River Formation is a sandstone-dominated stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in southern Alberta, Canada. It was deposited in near-shore to coastal environments during Late Cretaceous (late Santonian to early Campanian) time. Based on uranium-lead dating, palynology and stratigraphic relationships, deposition occurred between ~84.1 and 83.6 Ma. The sandstones of the Virgelle Member in the centre of the formation are well-exposed at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in southwestern Alberta, where they bear petroglyphs carved into them by First Nations people. The formation is fossiliferous and has yielded an extensive vertebrate fauna (see Tables below), as well as fossil ammonites. In some areas it hosts shallow natural gas reservoirs.

Stratigraphy and lithology

The Milk River Formation is an eastward-thinning wedge of clastic sediments that was deposited along the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway during Late Cretaceous (late Santonian to early Campanian) time. It is age-equivalent to the marine shales of the Lea Park Formation in southeastern Alberta, and to the Eagle and Telegraph Creek Formations of north-central Montana. In Alberta it is subdivided into the following three members:

Vertebrates

(references: Brinkman 2003; Gao and Fox 1995; Hilton and Grande 2006; Larson 2008; Sullivan 2003; University of Alberta webpage)

Cartilaginous fishes

Remains of an indeterminate lamnid genus and species are present.

Bony fishes

Remains of Acipenseridae, Amiidae, Esocidae, indeterminate genera and species.

Amphibians

Squamates

Indeterminate Anguidae and Xenosauridae genera and species.

Turtles

Indeterminate Solemydidae and Trionychidae genera and species.

Crocodilians

Dinosaurs

Indeterminate Ankylosauridae, Aves, Ceratopsidae, Dromaeosauridae, Hadrosauridae, Nodosauridae, Ornithomimidae, Pachycephalosauridae, Protoceratopsidae, Thescelosauridae, and Tyrannosauridae genera and species.

Mammals

Other mammals

Didelphomorphs

Footnotes