Middle Proterozoic Paleontology of the Belt Supergroup, Glacier National Park
Hunt RK. 2006. Middle Proterozoic Paleontology of the Belt Supergroup, Glacier National Park. Pages 57-62. In Lucas SG, Spielman JA, Hester PM, Kenworthy JP, Santucci VL. America's antiquities: 100 years of managing fossils on federal lands. New Mexico Museum of National History and Science. Albuquerque, NM. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 34
Summary of research efforts describing the stromatolite and eukaryotes found in the precambrian formations of the Belt Supergroup within Glacier National Park. Presents reported fossils found by geologic formation. Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana holds significant geological and paleontological resources. The Middle Proterozoic sedimentary rocks exposed by the Lewis Overthrust span over 2,100 m of stratigraphic thickness, representing 800 million years of deposition. The glacial carving of the mountains and valleys that began 1.6 Ma left outcrops that are strangely unaltered. While the geological resources of the park have been substantially researched, the paleontological studies have been more sporadic. Precambrian formations of the Belt Supergroup hold a record of abundant ancient life, such as stromatolites and eucaryotes. Stromatolites within the parks were first recognized by Walcott in 1906. They have subsequently been studied in detail by Fenton andFenton in the 1930s, Rezak and Ross in the 1950s and to a great extent by Horodyski from the mid-1970s to the 1990s. Current research conducted on the eukaryote Horodyskia moniliformis, from the Precambrian Appekunny Formation, and on the cone- and branching-shaped stromatolites of the Precambrian Siyeh Formation. These works yielded a great deal of knowledge about the paleontological history of the park but many more questions exist. Future explorations lie in the morphometric attributes, macrostructures and environmental conditions of the local stromatolites. Detailed study of the separate units within the park could also prove useful in the further search for fossils.
- Type
- Book Chapter
- Authors
- Hunt, ReBecca
- Units
- GLAC
- Keywords
- Fossils, Paleontology, Stromatolites