Sedimentation in a low-accommodation setting: Nonmarine (Cretaceous) Mannville and marine (Jurassic) Ellis groups, Manyberries field, southeastern Alberta

Abstract

Abstract Nonmarine strata of the Lower Cretaceous Mannville Group and marine strata of the Upper Jurassic Ellis Group in southern Alberta were deposited in the low-accommodation, eastern, and distal margin of the Western Canada sedimentary basin. The Manyberries oil field produces hydrocarbons from preserved interfluves as well as the deposits of compound valley fills. These Mannville Group sediments provide an end-member component for nonmarine sedimentation in a low-accommodation setting. The succession is characterized by thin sediment accumulations deposited over a long period of time; multiple unconformities, some profound; incised valleys, typically compound in nature; paleosols of varying degrees and maturity; and a general absence of coal.