Northwest Territories preliminary geological maps, accompanied by reports

Exposed rocks in the Simpson Lake map-area belong to the Cambrian, Ordovician, Devonian, and Cretaceous Systems. About 2000 feet of Paleozoic rocks, chiefly carbonates with subordinate shales, are rapped as: "Ronning Group", and Bear Rock, Hume, and Hare Indian Formations ( from oldest to youngest). Paleozoic strata are regionally truncated by widespread, but poorly exposed, Cretaceous clastic rocks which have an estimated cumulative thickness of about 1500 feet. Informal Cretaceous units (from oldest to youngest) are the "Silty", Bentonitic", and "Bituminous zones". Rocks in the map -area dip regionally westward and northwestward at low angles. There appear to be few structural complications, although small structures may be concealed by the extensive cover of fleistocene drift. Exposed rocks in the Stanton map-area , which lies within the Anderson Plain and Arctic Coastal Plains, belong to the Devonian and Cretaceous Systems. Devonian rocks are represented by the Imperial Formation and occur along Kugaluk River. The remainder of the region is underlain by Lower Cretaceous "Bentonitic zone" strata and Upper Cretaceous "Bituminous" and "Pale shale zone" strata; these rocks are best exposed along Anderson River. A thin gravel and sand unit of probable Tertiary - Quaternary age caps the plateau on the east side of Anderson River. A regional unconformity separates the Devonian and Cretaceous successions and a regional disconformity occurs between the Lower and Upper Cretaceous rocks. Strata in the map-area dip toward the northwest at low angles. There are few structural complications. A broad, linear arch of preCretaceous age coincides with Kugaluk River and small, tight, disharmonic folds of non-tectonic origin occur in "Bituminous zone" rocks west of Anderson River.