A Geologic History of Moose Mountain Alberta

Peter Leith
ESS 241
University of Toronto
25 November 2014
Abstract
Moose Mountain is an important feature in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. It is located 60
kilometres southeast of Banff and 50 kilometres southwest of Calgary. The rock groups in this
area encompass an enormous amount of time, having Mississippian, Devonian, Cambrian,
Jurassic, and Cretaceous beds. These rocks are primarily sedimentary in origin, most of which is
limestone. Faults are also very common across this terrain, the type exhibited being thrust faults;
these are the reason why the area is so mountainous. The topography of Moose Mountain is
multifaceted; there are mountains, valleys, rivers, and even small lakes.

Introduction
Moose Mountain is located in the thrust-and-fold belt of the Canadian Rockies, which as
indicated has many thrust faults, as well as folding present. This accounts for the topographic
features seen; large mountains, deep valleys, and many rivers. The area of the map given is about
45 square miles most of which is forested or mountainous terrain, there is also many small rivers
and lakes. Also, there is a vast amount of natural gas that was caused when Moose Mountain was
formed (n.d.). Continuing on with energy sources, the Mississippian and Devonian rocks have
been used to great extend for the oil reserves (GeoCanada)
Map Area
The area depicted in the sketch below (Figure 1) is from longitude 114 45 west to 115 west
and latitude 50 45 north to 51 north. As mentioned earlier, Moose Mountain is approximately
50 kilometres south west of Calgary, is the closest major population centre nearby. The area is
mostly mountainous, with stretches of forests and many meandering rivers and creeks. The one
major river, Elbow River, starts in the east section of the map and heads southwest, splitting at
around the middle to head south as well. The elevation in this map ranges from a maximum of
2765 metres to a minimum of 1571 metres. The highest section lies in the southwest of the map
and levels down as it progresses to the north east, interspaced with different small mountain
ranges.

Figure 1 Simplified geologic map of Moose Mountain

Lithologies
The age of the rocks in this section of the map go as far back as the Cambrian age to as recent as
the Cretaceous period. There are four separate rock groups in the simplified map (see Figure 1),
which are split into the different time period groups. The youngest is the Upper Cretaceous
group, mostly made up of shale and sandstone. Next is the Lower Cretaceous-Jurassic group
comprised of shales and limestone. Following that is the Mississippian group which is primarily
limestone. Finally the oldest group is from the Devonian-Cambrian age and contains dolomite
and limestone as well. These groups can be seen in chronological order in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2 Stratigraphic column of the Moose Mountain Geology

Geologic Structures
There are many geological structures in the Moose Mountain area. These range from faults, to
folds, as well as the namesake for the area, mountains. The amount of folding and faulting is
indicative of a tremendous amount of pressure on the rocks in the area, causing these features.
Looking at figure 3 below, the dips of the faults are very close to 90 this gives further evidence
to the incredible pressures that the rocks are under. The majority of the faults trend to the south
east with the exception of one trending south west, this may be caused by the latter one forming
after the three major ones shown. Folding occurs also along this south east trend. Also, anticlines
and synclines are clearly visible within the first quarter and third quarter of the cross section
below. The first one being a syncline, having the youngest features towards the centre of the
hinge, and the latter constituting an anticline, with the oldest features towards the centre. While
Moose Mountain is on the outskirts of the Rocky Mountains, there are still many mountainous
features, primarily located in the south western section of the map. Evidence of smaller peaks is
still visible as the cross section tends toward the north east.

Figure 3 Cross Section from A-B on Figure 1

Geological Interpretation and Analysis

Limestone forms from the remnants of inland seas, so likely the area that is now Moose
Mountain was once covered by a shallow sea that spanned across Canada. This would have
occurred during the Devonian-Cambrian period since only there does the limestone start to be
replaced by harder dolomite. Since sedimentary layers are laid down horizontally, we can infer
that the folding at faulting would have occurred sometime within the last 100 million years,

when the limestone in the Jurassic and lower Cretaceous is replaced by the more recent shale and
sandstone. The extreme stresses shown by the faults and folds would have been caused by the
building of the Rocky Mountain, as all the rocks in the vicinity would have been forcibly moved
by actions.
References
GeoCanada. (2000). Exploration Targets in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Foothills Calgary to
Moose Mountain, A Helicopter Supported Field Trip. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://peakfinder.com/peakfinder.asp?PeakName=Moose
Mountain