FUNDY BASIN
FUNDY

The Fundy basin consists of 3 connected subbasins that lie mostly submerged beneath the greater Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine. Together they comprise the largest exposed Triassic-Jurassic rift basin in Eastern North America.

The Fundy basin is the most similar of all the eastern North American basins to the Moroccan basins, having nearly a perfect match to many of the units seen there.

TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHIC


Above is a diagram depicting the major tectonostratigraphic divisions of eastern US early Mesozoic basins within the basic half graben geometry of the basins (from Olsen, 1977).

Of all the basins in eastern North America, only the Funy basin is known to have all four tectonostratigraphic divisions.

In the Fundy basin TS I consists of the Honeycomb Point Formation of probable Late Permian Age; TS II consits of the Wolfville Formation of Middle Triassic (Anisian - ?Ladinian) to early Late Triassic (Carnian) age; TS III consists of the Blomidon Formation of late, Late Triassic age (Norian - Rhaetian) age; and TS IV consists of the uppmost Blomidon Formation, North Mountain Basalt (part of the CAMP) of latest Triassic and Early Jurassic (Rhaetian - Hettangian) age.
Areas of Interest

A. Minas Subbasin South Shore: Outcrops along the hinge margin of Fundy basin near Wolfville, Nova Scotia on the southern shore of the Minas subbasin include sedimentary strata of Triassic and earliest Jurassic age and the North Mountain Basalt of Early Jurassic age (part of the CAMP) (TS II - IV). Compared to the outcrops on the north shore of the Fundy basin (below), the stratigraphy and structure is simple.

B. Minas Subbasin North Shore: Outcrops anlng the complex, northern, strike slip side of Minas subbasin of Fundy basin include sedimentary strata of Triassic and Jurassic age and the North Mountain Basalt of Early Jurassic age (TS II - IV) basically similar to the strata on the south shore (above). However, in some areas there were syn-extension micro-basins formed during oblique extension and spectacular eolian and volcanoclastic deposits. The Fundy Geological Museum is also in this part of the  basin and there you can see many of the fossils, inckuding dinosaurs, that have been found in this area.

C. Chignectco Subbasin: Outcrops along the west side of the Chignectco subbasin lie along a largely dip-slip border fault system. Outcrop reveal Late Permian strata unconformably overlain by Triassic strata (TS I - II).

 



References:

 Olsen, P. E. 1997. Stratigraphic record of the early Mesozoic breakup of Pangea in the Laurasia-Gondwana rift system. Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Science v. 25, p. 337-401.

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