935

The Archean deep-marine environment: turbidite

architecture of the Burwash Formation, Slave
Province, Northwest Territories1, 2
Mark E. Ferguson, John W.F. Waldron, and Wouter Bleeker

Abstract: The Slave Province is an Archean craton that contains an unusually large proportion of preserved sedimentary
rock, including thick turbidite successions. The Burwash Formation is exposed in the southern Slave Province between
the Anton and Sleepy Dragon basement massifs. At the base of the succession, volcanics and clastic metasedimentary
rocks of the Raquette Lake Formation record initiation of the basin in a rifted arc environment. These are overlain by
thin black slates representing a transgression, followed by well over 5 km of Burwash Formation metamorphosed
turbiditic sandstones and slates interspersed with thin felsic tuff layers. Lateral correlation within the formation is possible
using airphotos and recognizable tuff units. Burwash Formation sandstones include thinly bedded units displaying
Bouma sequences and thicker bedded units with scour-and-fill structures and stratification bands, characteristic of dense
sediment gravity flows. The sedimentary rocks are organized in architectural elements that include channel-fill sandstones
and conglomerates, muddy levees, interchannel sandstones resembling high-amplitude reflection packages (HARPs)
described from modern fans, and possible depositional lobes. The overall sedimentary architecture was probably controlled
by events in the tectonically active source area or areas. The Archean turbidites resemble their Phanerozoic and modern
analogues, although they show less voluminous levees, and are generally less organized, than large modern passive-margin
fans, which probably have no equivalents in the Archean.

Rsum : La Province des Esclaves est un craton archen qui contient une proportion exceptionnellement grande de
roches sdimentaires prserves, incluant des successions paisses de turbidites. La Formation de Burwash affleure dans
le sud de la Province des Esclaves entre les massifs de socle de Anton et de Sleepy Dragon. la base de la succession,
des roches volcaniques et des roches mtasdimentaires clastiques de la Formation de Raquette Lake marquent le dbut
du bassin dans un environnement darc de divergence. Ces roches sont recouvertes par de minces ardoises noires
reprsentant une transgression, suivent ensuite plus de 5 km dardoises et de grs turbiditiques mtamorphoss de la
Formation de Burwash, interstratifis avec de minces couches de tufs felsiques. Il est possible de faire la corrlation
latrale lintrieur de la formation au moyen de photographies ariennes et des units de tuf reconnaissables. Les
grs de la Formation de Burwash comprennent des units lits minces qui dmontrent des squences de Bouma et des
units lits plus pais avec des structures de ravinement et de remplissage ainsi que des bandes de stratification,
caractristiques dcoulements gravitaires denses de sdiments. Les roches sdimentaires sont structures en lments
architecturaux qui comprennent : des grs et des conglomrats de remplissage de chenaux, des leves boueuses, des
grs entre les chenaux qui ressemblent des ensembles de rflexion grande amplitude ( high-amplitude reflection
packages ) dcrits partir de deltas modernes et de possibles lobes de dposition. Larchitecture sdimentaire globale
tait probablement contrle par des vnements dans la ou les rgions sources tectoniquement actives. Les turbidites
archennes ressemblent leurs analogues du Phanrozoque et de lre moderne, bien quelles dmontrent des leves
moins volumineuses et qu'elles soient gnralement moins bien organises que les deltas modernes de marge passive,
lesquels nont probablement pas dquivalents dans lArchen.
[Traduit par la Rdaction] Ferguson et al. 954

Received 8 December 2003. Accepted 5 August 2004. Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at http://cjes.nrc.ca on
26 August 2005.
Paper handled by Associate Editor K. Ansdell.
M.E. Ferguson. Department of Earth Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 3J5, Canada.
J.W.F. Waldron.3 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada.
W. Bleeker. Geological Survey of Canada, 615 Booth Street, Ottawa ON K1A 0E8, Canada.
1
This article is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue on The Lithoprobe Slave Northern Cordillera
Lithospheric Evolution (SNORCLE) transect.
2
Lithoprobe Publication 1369; Geological Survey of Canada Contribution 12345.
3
Corresponding author (e-mail: john.waldron@ualberta.ca).

Can. J. Earth Sci. 42: 935954 (2005) doi: 10.1139/E04-070 2005 NRC Canada
936
Introduction
Sedimentary rocks represent an important part of the tec-
tonic and environmental record of early Earth history. Many
Archean sedimentary successions are metamorphosed and
intensely deformed, however, making their interpretation dif-
ficult. The southern Slave Province (Fig. 1), an Archean seg-
ment of the Canadian Shield that is traversed by the
Lithoprobe Slave Northern Cordillera Lithospheric Evolu-
tion (SNORCLE) transect, contains an exceptional record of
late Archean sedimentation, including substantial thicknesses
of some of the worlds best-preserved Archean turbidites.
Through an examination of their sedimentary architecture,
we compare the turbidites of the Burwash Formation with
Phanerozoic and recent turbidite successions to provide a
picture of the deep-water environment in a tectonically active
region at -2.7 Ga.
Regional geologic getting
Within the southern Slave Province (Fig. 1), sialic base-
ment ranging from ca. 4.05 to ca. 2.9 Ga is overlain by
supracrustal units assigned to the Yellowknife Supergroup
(Henderson 1970, 1985; Bleeker et al. 1999a). The oldest
supracrustal units comprise several widely separated succes-
sions of quartzite, mafic volcanics, and banded iron forma-
tions assigned to the Central Slave Cover Group (Bleeker et
al. 1999a). These are overlain conformably to disconformably
by 27222700 Ma tholeiitic basalt successions (Bleeker et
al. 1999a; Isachsen and Bowring 1997). Calc-alkaline volca-
nic rocks (ca. 26902660 Ma) higher in the succession are in
turn conformably overlain by clastic sedimentary rocks of
the Duncan Lake Group, including the Burwash Formation
turbidites (Henderson 1970, 1972), which form the main
subject of this paper.
Folded Burwash Formation strata are the major rock type
traversed along the eastern portion of the SNORCLE transect
east of Yellowknife (Cook et al. 1999) and an important
component of the most ancient crust imaged by Lithoprobe
transects across Canada. A lack of impedance contrast has
rendered these rocks seismically relatively transparent, how-
ever (e.g., Snyder et al. 2005). Shallow-dipping major reflec-
tors east of Yellowknife appear to correspond to Proterozoic
intrusive sills, the volcanic substrate, and crystalline base-
ment below the steeply folded Burwash Formation strata.
The reflection data suggest that, in the structural basin east
of Yellowknife, the folded turbidite strata extend to depths
of approximately 1012 km below the present erosion sur-
face.
The area of outcrop of the Burwash Formation (Fig. 1) is
bounded to the west by the Yellowknife greenstone belt and
the Anton basement complex, to the east by the Sleepy
Dragon Complex and Meander Lake Plutonic Suite, and to
the north by the Nardin Metamorphic Complex (Fig. 1). The
southern extension of the formation is obscured by Great
Slave Lake, although geophysical studies suggest that the
unit extends south at least 10 km (Gibb and Thomas 1980).
Henderson (1972, 1975) interpreted approximately 4500 m
of steeply dipping strata near Yellowknife as a series of
coalescing submarine fans that received sediment eroded
from both sialic basement and volcanic rocks exposed to the
Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005
west. The Burwash Formation turbidites are interbedded with
felsic volcanic tuff layers, dated at 2261 + 23 Ma (Bleeker and
Villeneuve 1995). In addition, felsic volcanics that conform-
ably underlie part of the Burwash Formation in the Clan
Lake area have yielded an identical age, within error, of
2661 1 Ma (Mortensen et al. 1988).
Henderson (1981, 1985) interpreted the Burwash Forma-
tion as part of an ensialic rift basin, bounded by volcanic
belts located along major faults. More recent studies of the
southern Slave Province include more mobilistic interpreta-
tions. Kusky (1990) suggested that the volcanic belts repre-
sent ophiolites transported significant distances over sialic
basement and that the Burwash and related turbidite units
represent flysch deposited in a convergent tectonic setting.
Investigations by Bleeker and coworkers (Bleeker et al. 1999a,
1999b), however, have not substantiated this hypothesis; the
turbidite units have been shown to stratigraphically overlie
the volcanic units, which in turn can be tied to basement by
crosscutting intrusive relationships. Current interpretations
suggest that the turbidites were deposited in arc-like settings,
based on the calc-alkaline affinities of underlying volcanics
and interbedded intermediate tuffs.
Comparable turbidites of the Contwoyto Formation overlie
and are interbedded with volcanics dated at 2683 + 85..63 Ma at
Point Lake (Fig. 1) (Mueller et al. 2000; Corcoran and
Dostal 2001). Turbidites with interbedded iron formations in
the Hackett River area, farther east in the Slave Province
(Fig. 1), overlie rhyolite dated at 2683 2 Ma (van Breemen
et al. 1992), a succession comparable to that in the western
Slave Province. Farther north, however, in the High Lake
(Fig. 1) greenstone belt, volcanics interbedded with turbidite
sequences have been dated at 2695 3 and 2671 3 Ma
(Henderson et al. 1994), suggesting an earlier onset of
turbidite sedimentation in the far north of the province.
Relatively younger (ca. <2629 Ma) turbidite units uncon-
formably overlie ca. 2670 Ma felsic to mafic volcanics in the
southwestern corner of the Slave Province (Pehrsson and
Villeneuve 1999). The youngest units of the Yellowknife
Supergroup include widely separated, <2605 Ma, conglomer-
ate-dominated units (e.g., Jackson Lake Formation, Isachsen
and Bowring 1994; Kaycee and String Lake conglomerates,
Relf et al. 1999; Keskarrah and Beaulieu Rapids forma-
tions, Corcoran et al. 1998, 1999) deposited during late-stage
faulting of the Slave Province (Mueller and Corcoran 1998).
Abundant late Archean (ca. 2.6 Ga) granitoids intrude the
sedimentary and volcanic units (Fig. 1).
Structure and metamorphism
The map pattern in the Burwash Formation is dominated
by two generations of folds (Fig. 1). F1 folds are character-
ized by north- to northeast-trending, gentle to steep, doubly
plunging hinges, open to tight interlimb angles, and highly
variable amplitudes. F2 folds are less common and are char-
acterized by north- to northwest-trending hinges and gentle
to open interlimb angles.
Peak regional metamorphism occurred at the same time
as, or shortly after, the F2 folding. In areas of greenschist-
facies metamorphism (Fig. 1), sedimentary features are typi-
cally well preserved, although a prominent slaty cleavage,
approximately axial planar to the F2 folds, is developed in
2005 NRC Canada
Ferguson et al. 937

Fig. 1. Map of Slave Province showing location of the study area. Enlargement shows principal rock units of southwestern Slave Province,
localities mentioned in the text, and the location of Fig. 2.

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938 Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005

fine-grained sediments, which are therefore described as slate. Fig. 2. Map of Burwash Formation in Hearne Lake area, based on
Coarser grained units, namely metasiltstones, metasandstones, airphoto interpretation and field observations. Rectangles enclose
and rare metaconglomerates, typically show little metamorphic areas of detailed study (areas A, B, C, and D) described in the text.
fabric in the field; we therefore use simple sedimentary terms
for these units. In areas of amphibolite-facies metamorphism,
cordierite and local garnet porphyroblasts typically obliterate
most sedimentary features (Bleeker and Beaumont-Smith 1995).

Stratigraphic relationships
Base of the Burwash Formation
The Burwash Formation rests with apparent conformable
contact on diverse volcanic and sedimentary successions.
Adjacent to the Sleepy Dragon Complex, the underlying
Raquette Lake Formation has been interpreted by Mueller
and Corcoran (2001) as a series of coalescing coarse-grained
fan deltas and possibly sandy alluvial fans that prograded
onto a limited shallow-water shelf that experienced occa-
sional volcanic activity. Our observations at Upper Ross
Lake (Fig. 1) confirm this general interpretation. We note
the presence of thick, carbonate-rich, matrix-supported con-
glomerate in some sections (Fig. 3a), suggesting the pres-
ence of submarine slopes sufficient to generate debris flows.
In addition, we recorded significant conglomerate-filled sed-
imentary dykes within the formation (up to 1 m wide;
Fig. 3a), indicating a tectonically active environment that ex-
perienced extension in a direction parallel to the present-day
strike.
The uppermost shallow-water sandstones and felsic
volcanics of the Raquette Lake Formation are capped by a
1015 m black slate interval, containing tuff layers (Fig. 4).
This black slate interval is overlain by basal turbiditic meta-
morphosed sandstones of the Burwash Formation. A similar
relationship exists farther south, where black slates at the top
of the Detour Lake Formation are overlain by Burwash For-
mation turbidites (Bleeker 2001), and in the Yellowknife
belt, where Helmstaedt and Padgham (1986) describe 30 m
of sulphidic slates below the Burwash turbidites. We inter-
pret the transition from high-energy, tectonically influenced
marginal marine sediments to extremely low energy, black
mudrocks, as representing a transgression over a rapidly ex-
tended and subsiding basement massif.
Farther north, at Allen Lake, the succession is different.
The thick Webb Lake Andesite appears to rest above strata
equivalent to the Raquette Lake Formation (Fig. 5). The base
of the Burwash Formation comprises fine-grained, very
thickly bedded sandstones that rest directly on highly strained
Webb Lake Andesite pillow basalts and pillow breccias. The
absence of a basal fine-grained unit is possibly explained by
onlap of Burwash turbidites onto a volcanic edifice that was
not submerged until later during transgression.

Burwash Formation internal stratigraphy

The Burwash Formation consists of subequal amounts of
metamorphosed sandstone and slate, with very rare con-
glomerate and tuff. Aerial photographs and large outcrops
display impressive bedding continuity, and an approximate
correlation of bedding was achieved over large areas (e.g.,
Figs. 2, 6). A broadly homoclinal succession along the west
coast of Hearne Lake, on the east limb of the F1 Hearne
Lake Syncline (Fig. 2), is -3.2 km thick. The entire formation

2005 NRC Canada

Ferguson et al. 939

Fig. 3. Field photographs. (a) Matrix-supported conglomerate of Raquette Lake Formation, Upper Ross Lake. Arrows show margin of
synsedimentary dyke (to the right) which cuts more clast-rich conglomerate (to left), with bedding orientation shown by the lines. Pocket
knife (10 cm) for scale. (b) Watta Lake tuff T5, section D1. (c) Debris flow bed above Watta Lake tuff, containing large transported
clasts of tuff, section D5. (d) Scour and fill structure (arrow highlights scour) in thickly bedded sandstone. (e) Typical field aspect of
thinly bedded turbidites, section C2. (f) Stratification bands in thick bedded sandstone. Coin for scale. (g) Aerial view of area A, looking
north; field of view -200 m wide at centre. Field compass for scale in (b)(e).

2005 NRC Canada

940
Fig. 4. Stratigraphic column showing base of Burwash Formation
at Upper Ross Lake. Grain-size scale is corrected by petrographic
examination of field samples at standard grain sizes, as described
in the text.
is inferred to be well over 5 km thick, based on significant
thicknesses of turbidites both below and above this section.
Numerous tuff-dominated intervals, ranging in thickness from
a few centimetres to a few metres, provide recognizable
stratigraphic markers. Most notable is the Watta Lake tuff, a
distinctive package of tuff layers with a recognizable internal
stratigraphy (Figs. 3b, 3c), dated by Bleeker and Villeneuve
(1995) at 2661 + 23 Ma (U/Pb zircon), and recognized at mul-
tiple locations (Figs. 2, 7).
Significant tuff layers exposed west of Hearne Lake were
numbered, from T1 upward to T30, in the core of the Hearne
Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005
Lake Syncline. The Watta Lake tuff is T5, and T23 repre-
sents a second stratigraphic marker, identified at locations
up to 9 km apart (Fig. 5).
Sedimentary features
Petrography
The sandstones are mainly poorly to very poorly sorted
wackes that correspond compositionally to arkoses and lithic
arkoses. Grain populations are dominated by plagioclase
feldspar and quartz grains and plagioclase-rich plutonic frag-
ments, consistent with derivation from Slave basement, from
plutons that intrude it, or from contemporary intermediate to
felsic volcanic rocks. Minor fine-grained lithic components
include iron-bearing quartzites, iron-rich cherts, and volcanic
fragments, inferred to be derived from underlying volcanic
successions, and the Central Slave Cover Group.
Grain size was judged in the field by visual comparison
with a chart containing sieved sand samples. Subsequent es-
timates obtained petrographically from the same rocks were
consistently finer than those obtained from the same rocks in
the field. This is a common problem in poorly sorted sedi-
mentary rocks, because the coarsest fraction is most conspic-
uous to the naked eye. To correct for this problem, sizes
were determined petrographically on selected samples, using
the technique of Friedman (1958) and outlined in Blatt (1982),
and found to be -0.6 finer than the field estimates. In the
measured sections (Fig. 4 onward), two grain-size scales are
included to facilitate comparison with both ancient and mod-
ern sections.
Paleocurrents
In typical glacially smoothed lakeshore exposures, sand-
stones and coarse siltstones show clear sedimentary struc-
tures in cross section. Flutes, grooves, and ripples, from
rarely observed bedding surfaces, provide only scarce paleo-
current information, suggesting generally northward flow in
present-day coordinates.
Depositional sedimentary structures
A broad distinction was made between thinly bedded
heterolithic intervals with a large proportion of slate (typi-
cally 20%80%) and sandstone-dominated intervals with a
predominance (>80%) of metamorphosed sandstone. Although
not completely exclusive, these two categories show different
suites of sedimentary structures. Heterolithic intervals (Fig. 3e)
typically have very thin to medium (130 cm; Table 1)
sandstone beds with continuous grading and partial (rarely
complete) Bouma (1962) sequences, characteristic of classical
turbidites.
Sandstone-dominated intervals contain thickly to very thickly
(>30 cm; Table 1) bedded sandstone beds with clasts that
range from very fine sand to granule size. In contrast with
thinner beds in heterolithic intervals, grading is typically
confined to the upper third of a sand bed. Some sand beds
are capped by 1030 cm of laminated or cross-laminated
graded siltstone or slate, however. Lower parts of the sand-
stone beds have high concentrations of very coarse sand and
granules that locally form layers 14 cm thick (Fig. 3f) typically
separated by 110 cm intervals of poorly sorted, coarsening-
upward sand, similar to traction carpets (Dzulynski and Sanders
2005 NRC Canada
Ferguson et al. 941

Fig. 5. Schematic diagram showing overall relationships of identified horizons and measured sections within Burwash Formation (pale
grey). Inferred relationships of volcanic units and basement at base of the Burwash Formation (southeast margin of Sleepy Dragon
Complex) are shown at lower right, with -8 vertical exaggeration, after Bleeker (2001).

1962; Lowe 1982) or stratification bands (Hiscott and Middleton
1979) observed in other studies. Discussion has surrounded
their origin (Lowe 1982; Postma et al. 1988; Hiscott 1994;
Sohn 1997), but it is agreed that they form in dense grain
dispersions at the base of high-density sediment gravity flows.
Localized scour-and-fill structures (Fig. 3d) are typical in
the lower parts of thick to very thick beds of sandstone-
dominated intervals. Each scour is 1020 cm deep and 20
50 cm long. Individual scours have upwardly concave
erosional bases overlain by coarse lags and faint internal
laminations that can often be traced out of the scour trough,
becoming bedding-parallel or gently convex upward. These
scour-and-fill structures resemble large flute casts in shape
but differ from flutes in having internal trough cross-bedding
and in being distributed through significant thicknesses of
strata, rather than being confined to single-event surfaces.
Similar structures within sandy turbidite beds have been
described by Hiscott and Middleton (1979), Lowe (1982),
Waldron and Jensen (1985), and Fralick et al. (1992). Closely
similar structures in the Paleozoic Goldenville Formation of
Nova Scotia are interpreted by Waldron and Jensen (1985)
and Waldron (1992) as short-lived dunes developed under
high sediment fallout rate. In some sections, these structures
superficially resemble hummocky or swaly cross-stratification,
which led Padgham (1994) to interpret examples at Victory
Lake as storm deposits. The unidirectional character of cross-
bedding in the scour fills, however, and the absence of other
wave-generated structures in the thick succession, preclude a
shallow-marine interpretation.
Isolated tabular intraclasts of silt or slate, up to 25 cm
long, are found in thin to medium beds of siltstone to fine
sandstone. The transport of isolated, large clasts within beds

2005 NRC Canada

942
Fig. 6. (a) Aerial photograph of area B. (b) Interpretation of area
shown in (a). See Figs. 2 and 9 for location. Note locations of
sections B1B5.
deposited from sediment gravity flows has been discussed in
detail by Postma et al. (1988), who interpret these clasts as
having been transported within high-density flows along a
rheological interface. Certain thick to very thick, very fine
grained to medium-grained sandstones contain more abun-
dant intraclasts, comprising very fine sand, silt, black slate,
and (or) felsic tuff (Fig. 3c). The large number and irregular
orientations of intraclasts within the bed suggest deposition
Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005
from nonturbulent sandy debris flows (e.g., Shanmugam 1996,
1997).
Postdepositional structures
Postdepositional structures include common flame struc-
tures, dewatering sheets, convolute lamination, slurried beds,
and pseudonodules; their abundance may reflect seismic
activity, consistent with a tectonically active setting. Sedi-
mentary dykes and sills occur locally, particularly in associa-
tion with channel sandstones (see the next section). Sills, 3
20 cm thick, are distinguished from normal bedding by
(i) sharp contacts above and below, (ii) angular xenolithic
fragments derived from surrounding beds, and (iii) matching
upper and lower boundaries.
System architecture
Interpretation of ancient turbidite successions is difficult
because information on modern turbidites is mainly derived
from shallow-penetration techniques of sea-floor investigation,
whereas ancient turbidites are usually studied in vertical or
pseudovertical measured sections. Recently this difficulty has
been alleviated by the development of improved logging and
coring techniques in modern deep-sea sands. Architectural
elements in turbidite successions often have extreme aspect
ratios, however, making lateral correlation over long dis-
tances a prerequisite for the architectural analysis of ancient
successions.
Four areas (Fig. 2) were selected for detailed study of the
sedimentary architecture, based on the presence of distinctive
tuff packages, excellent exposure on lake shores, and airphoto
correlations. Area A includes a well-exposed coarse-grained
interval that is visibly channelized (Fig. 8); area B (Figs. 6,
9, 10) includes airphoto lineaments that are particularly clear;
area C (Figs. 11, 12) includes tuff package T23 that can be
correlated for 9 km along strike; and area D (Fig. 13) encom-
passes multiple outcrops of the distinctive Watta Lake tuff
(T5).
The successions in these areas can be related in general
terms to modern sandy mid-fan to lower fan deposits, such
as those cored on the Amazon fan (Flood et al. 1991; Hiscott
et al. 1997; Normark et al. 1997; Pirmez et al. 1997), and to
well-exposed Phanerozoic successions such as the Gerbe II
system of the Eocene Hecho Supergroup (Clark and Pickering
1996). In these successions it is possible to distinguish
(Figs. 14a, 14b) (i) channels, often filled by strings of sand
or sandstone; (ii) muddy levees, which bound the channels
and are often much more voluminous than the channels
themselves; (iii) lobes, consisting of stacked sand sheets,
located down-fan from channel terminations; and (iv) inter-
channel sands (also known from seismic profiles as HARPs,
or high-amplitude reflection packages) that internally resemble
lobes but are laterally confined between levees of adjacent
channels (Flood et al. 1991; Hiscott et al. 1997).
Area A
A coarse-grained sandstone-dominated interval on the west
shore of Hearne Lake (Fig. 2), -50 m beneath tuff T15,
comprises abundant granule conglomerate and massive
sandstone (Fig. 8), interpreted as deposits of high-density
turbidity currents. Some coarse sandstone beds are capped
2005 NRC Canada
Ferguson et al.
Fig. 7. Map of southern Hearne Lake showing distribution of Watta Lake Tuff (T5) and location of measured sections D1D5.
by several metres of cross-laminated very fine sandstone to
siltstone. The thickest and coarsest beds are scoured deeply
into underlying beds; lateral relationships indicate that erosive
currents were confined to channels. The channel identified
in Fig. 8 is at least 120 m wide and approximately 10 m deep.
Area B
Study area B is illustrated by an airphoto interpretation
(Fig. 6), a detailed tape and compass map (Fig. 9c), and five
measured sections (Fig. 10). At the base of the sections, be-
low the level of tuff T17*, coarse-grained and very thickly
bedded strata exposed in section B1 contrast with the later-
ally equivalent fine-grained interval at the base of sections
B3 and B5 (Fig. 10). The sand body in section B1 has a len-
ticular shape based on airphoto interpretation (Fig. 6) and
field mapping, and is interpreted as channel fill. The later-
ally equivalent, finer grained strata (B3) are interpreted as
deposits near the crest of an adjacent levee. The sand content
of the inferred levee increases southward to section B5, in-
ferred to reflect position farther from the apex of the levee
(Fig. 14c). Levee crests in modern fans receive sediment
mainly by spill from the fine-grained tops of through-flowing
currents, whereas levee flanks receive more significant sand
input from flows that escape from channels (Piper and
Normark 1983).
The upper parts of the sections are more sandstone-
dominated. The traces of well-defined sandstone beds
(Figs. 6, 9) gently diverge northward from section B5, with
strong divergence between sections B4 and B3. North of B3,
the traces rapidly converge northward over 350 m such that
the total thickness is approximately halved. At section B2,
massive sandstone beds dominate the section (Fig. 10). The
detailed map (Fig. 9c) shows several features that can only
be sedimentary in origin, including the northward pinch-out
943
of thin siltstone beds and the lateral transition from thinner
bedded, finer grained facies into very thick sandstone beds.
Based on its location immediately above the inferred channel
levee system, this upper interval is interpreted as an inter-
channel deposit that onlaps the levee (Fig. 14c).
Area C
Exposure of tuff package T23 at three locations in area C
(Fig. 2) allows lateral correlation over 9 km. The area contains
a previously described granule conglomerate unit (Henderson
1985). Between sections W2 and W3, airphoto interpretation
allowed bedding traces to be correlated over -3 km. The
section was divided into six intervals (Fig. 11) and subdivided
using the simple facies scheme outlined in Table 2. Three
detailed sections (C1C3) were measured where exposure
was relatively continuous (portions located in intervals 3 and
4 are shown in Fig. 12).
Interval 1 is typically thinly to medium bedded and com-
prises a relatively high proportion of slate and siltstone. The
interval is generally similar in character to the interpreted
levee and interchannel sands in area B. Interval 2 is 4045 m
thick and comprises mixed sandsilt beds (facies SF, F, and
Sg). Because of lateral changes and a high proportion of
mud, this interval is also interpreted as a levee deposit, possibly
overlain by interchannel sand.
In the lower part of interval 3, several well-defined 10 m-thick
groups of sandstone beds (Fig. 11) can be correlated over the
6 km distance from section C1 to section C2, thinning south-
ward. None of these can be definitively correlated to section
C3, however, which shows massive sand at the base, inter-
preted as a channel fill. Laterally equivalent strata in sec-
tions C2 and C1 thin to the south and are interpreted as
levee and interchannel deposits. Interval 4 comprises three
distinct sandstone packets, correlated between all the sections
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944
Fig. 8. Stratigraphic columns and correlation in area A, west shore of Hearne Lake (location shown in Fig. 2). Grain-size scale as in
Fig. 4.
(Fig. 12). These comprise very thick, graded sandstone beds
with silty tops and minor fine-grained interbeds. Because of
their lateral continuity and the lack of an obvious relationship
to channelized sand, these are interpreted as depositional
lobes (Mutti 1977; Shanmugam and Moiola 1991). Interval
5 is a 1520 m-thick fine-grained packet that includes the
tuff package T23 (Fig. 11), deposited during a period of
increased volcanic activity and (or) little coarse sediment in-
put.
Interval 6 is thick, laterally varied, and includes a lenticular
body of granule conglomerate previously identified by
Henderson (1985). North of section C3, fine-grained facies
are present at the base, separated by an erosion surface from
overlying granule-bearing sandstones (facies Sm). In the area
of C3, a second 20 m thick granule conglomerate unit is also
bounded by a sharp lateral change in facies, appearing
incised into thinner bedded and finer grained facies SF.
Although this contact is marked by some quartz veining,
possibly representing differential strain along this abrupt
boundary, and a small fault (possibly also reflecting differ-
ential strain around the channel) is present in the slaty inter-
Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005
vals below, there is no other indication that the contact is
tectonic. These incised granule conglomerate and granule-
bearing sandstone units probably represent thalweg deposits
similar to those described by Watson (1981) in the Milliners
Arm Formation of Newfoundland. The presence of an in-
cised contact suggests that high-density turbidity currents
occasionally eroded into the northern channel margin. To the
south, facies Sg passes laterally into facies Sm (Fig. 11),
suggesting that the thalweg axis migrated over time.
Area D
Study area D includes the southeastern part of Hearne
Lake and the northwestern portion of Watta Lake (Fig. 2).
Six outcrops including the Watta Lake tuff (Fig. 7, sections
D1D5) were examined to identify lateral facies variations
(Fig. 13). In contrast with other areas, differential strain be-
tween sections, related to F1 and F2 folds, is obvious from
deformed sedimentary structures and tuff clasts. Strain anal-
yses based on coarse clasts in tuff were used to restore the
columns to their approximate original relative stratigraphic
thicknesses (Cuthbert 2000). The strata can be broadly sepa-
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Ferguson et al. 945

Fig. 9. (a) Map of area B (see Fig. 2 for location). (b, c) Enlargements showing geometry around inferred channel margin. Figure 9c
was constructed by tape-and-compass mapping. Note locations of sections B1B5.

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946 Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005

Fig. 10. Stratigraphic columns illustrating lateral facies changes in vicinity of inferred channel margin, area B. Locations of sections
shown in Fig. 9. Grain-size scale as in Fig. 4. Letters beside the columns represent facies, using the simple scheme of Table 2.

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Ferguson et al. 947

Fig. 11. Map showing distribution of facies in the northern part

of area C (see Fig. 2 for location). Correlation is based on
airphoto lineaments and correlation of tuff layers; shading is
based on field identification of facies, using the simple scheme
of Table 2.

Table 1. Bed-thickness terminology.

Thickness (cm) Bed description
<3 Very thinly bedded
310 Thinly bedded
1030 Medium bedded
30100 Thickly bedded
>100 Very thickly
bedded

rated into six intervals. Intervals 1, 3, and 5 are sandstone

rich, separated vertically and laterally by heterolithic inter-
vals 2, 4, and 6. Inferred architectural relationships for inter-
vals 36 are summarized in Fig. 14d.
Interval 1, exposed only in section D1, comprises very
thickly bedded sandstones with scoured bases, comparable
with those of the interpreted channel fills of areas A and C.
Interval 2 comprises very thinly to thickly bedded, graded
sandstones and interbedded siltstones, suggesting interchannel
or possibly lobe deposits. Interval 3 comprises very thickly
bedded sandstones that have scoured bases and abundant
scour-and-fill structures, interpreted as channel-fill sands.
These can be correlated through sections D1D4. Laterally
equivalent parts of section D6, however, display thin to
medium-bedded siltstones and sandstones. These are inter-
preted as levee deposits. The lower part of interval 4 is dom-
inated by thin- to medium-bedded strata that thin between
sections D6 and D2 (Fig. 13). More laterally continuous,
very thickly bedded sandstones, interbedded with thin siltstones
and sandstones, dominate the upper part of the interval. These
correlations suggest that the strata onlap the top of the inter-
preted levee deposit of interval 3; the onlapping strata are in-
terpreted as interchannel deposits thinning towards the levee
crest, similar to the interchannel deposits of area A (Fig. 14).
Interval 5 comprises very thick sandstone with scoured bases
and internal scour-and-fill structures, interpreted as a channel
fill with no laterally equivalent levee. The thickest part of
the interval in section D1 is flanked by sheet-like deposits in
sections D2D6. This contrasts with the channel geometries
displayed in other areas, suggesting a geometry without major
levees, consistent with the low-sinuousity channel model of
Clark and Pickering (1996).
The base of interval 6 is marked by the Watta Lake tuff
T5. In sections D3D6, the tuff has been locally eroded and
included in an overlying sandstone bed as intraclasts (Fig. 3c).
We suggest that the intraclast-rich deposit was located
downslope of a levee breach, following the model of Hiscott
et al. (1997), who identified thickly to very thickly bedded
sandstone packets with abundant mud clasts as part of inter-
channel flow deposits associated with an upstream avulsion.
The overlying strata of interval 6 comprise thinly to very
thickly bedded siltstones and sandstones. Based on their lateral
continuity and on the mixed lithologies, these deposits are

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948 Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005

Fig 12. Graphic logs of three parallel sections in area C, centred on tuff T23. See Fig. 2 for locations. Letters beside the columns
represent facies, using the simple scheme of Table 2. Grain-size scale as in Fig. 4.

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 Fig. 13. Stratigraphic columns based on sections D1D5 in area D including tuff T5, the Watta Lake tuff, showing inferred facies architecture. Note that two sections, measured
at locality D3, on either limb of a syncline, are labelled D3a and D3b. Letters beside the columns represent facies, using the simple scheme of Table 2. Poor exposure is in-
dicated by the broken lines. Grain-size scale as in Fig. 4.
Ferguson et al.

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949
950 Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005

Fig. 14. Diagrams showing interpreted facies architectures. (a) Schematic plan view of a portion of a sandy mid-fan, showing inferred
relationships of channels, levees, and interchannel avulsion deposits. (b) Cross section showing vertical relationships of architectural
elements. (c) Diagram showing inferred architecture of area B. (d) Diagram showing inferred architectures of area D. (e) Cartoon
showing possible arc-related setting of Burwash Formation depositional basin (after Bleeker et al. 1997).

interpreted as deposited in an extensive interchannel or ba-
sin-plain setting.
Discussion
Burwash basin initiation
The strata exposed along the western and southern margins
of the Sleepy Dragon Complex (Fig. 1), and in the Yellow-
knife belt farther west, provide important clues to the early
evolution of the Burwash basin. First, the transition from the
mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) like tholeiitic basalts to
calc-alkaline intermediate volcanic rocks suggests that the
basin developed in close association with arc-like volcanic
edifices (Fig. 14e) (Lambert et al. 1992b).
Along the southwestern margin of the Sleepy Dragon
Complex, the initiation of more felsic volcanic activity was

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Ferguson et al.
Table 2. Facies classification system.
Abbreviation Facies description
G Granule-bearing coarse to very coarse sandstone or granule conglomerate beds
Sm Thick to very thick sandstone beds comprising more than 90% of strata
Sg Thick to very thick sandstone beds with silty tops (typically greater than 30 cm thick but less than 50% of the bed)
comprising more than 75% of strata
SF Thick to very thick sandstone beds comprising 10%75% of strata interbedded with 25%90% thin to medium sandstone,
siltstone, and slate beds
F Very thin to medium siltstone and slate beds comprising more than 90% of strata with less than 10% sandstone beds
accompanied by extension, erosion, and subsequent deposition
of the Raquette Lake Formation. Synsedimentary features
within the Raquette Lake Formation also indicate extension.
The earliest deposition of Burwash Formation turbidites is
inferred to have occurred in the southwest, overlying the
Raquette Lake Formation. To the north, the Dome Lake
Basalt (Fig. 5) represents a volcanic edifice active at the
time of deposition of the basal strata of the Burwash Forma-
tion. Hence, transgression probably proceeded diachronously
towards the north. Felsic volcanism (dated at 2661 1 Ma)
continued in the Clan Lake area, probably contributing
volcanic ash throughout the Burwash sedimentary basin
(Fig. 14e).
Based on the abundance of amygdules, Lambert (1988)
suggested that the uppermost part of the Dome Lake Basalt
was extruded in waters shallower than 500 m. The volcanic
units were subsequently overlain by Burwash Formation
turbidites and interbedded felsic tuffs, suggesting that basal
Burwash sediments were below wave base but possibly as
shallow as 500 m. Subsidence must have continued to create
accommodation space, however, because several kilometres
of strata were eventually deposited.
Provenance of Burwash sediments
Petrographic observations from the central Burwash For-
mation (our data and Henderson 1985) suggest a source area
dominated by felsic volcanics and granitoids, with at least
minor contributions from metamorphic rocks and quartzite-
bearing units. The nonvolcanic components reflect the present-
day distribution of pre-Burwash Formation rocks in the
southern Slave. For example, the less common quartzite
fragments were probably derived from the Central Slave Cover
Group. Felsic volcanic detritus may have been derived from
the Clan Lake volcanic edifice and from other felsic volcanics
of the volcanic belts surrounding the Sleepy Dragon Com-
plex. Detrital zircon ages from the sandy turbidites are dom-
inated by -2.7 Ga peaks, with only a minor component of
older zircons (Sircombe et al. 1999), supporting derivation
of most detritus from contemporary subvolcanic granitoids
and felsic volcanic edifices.
Significance of fan architecture
In all the areas of detailed study, a general subdivision of
intervals into two categories is possible. The first category
includes laterally discontinuous sandstone channel-fill de-
posits typically associated laterally with much finer grained
levee deposits. The second category includes onlapping or
laterally continuous interchannel and lobe deposits (Fig. 14b).
These elements are similar to those described from both
951
modern (Hiscott et al. 1997; Piper and Normark 2001) and
ancient submarine-fan systems (Watson 1981; Clark and
Pickering 1996) and suggest deposition on a submarine fan
in middle- to lower-fan settings.
Interchannel deposits, similar to the HARPs identified on
the Amazon fan, have only rarely been identified in ancient
outcrop studies (e.g., Clark and Pickering 1996; Cronin et al.
2000). In the Amazon fan, these deposits are closely associated
with avulsion events and subsequent channel abandonment
(Hiscott et al. 1997); they are typically overlain by newly
developed large channellevee systems. In the Burwash
Formation, the cyclic pattern of channellevee system aban-
donment and reestablishment does not appear as regular. In
contrast with passive-margin fans such as the Amazon, the
Burwash Formation was deposited in an active tectonic setting
that exerted significant control on the sedimentary system
and curtailed levee development.
Fan types and tectonic environments
Piper and Normark (2001) used studies of architectural
elements from multiple submarine fans to better understand
the factors controlling system development. They suggested
that sediment texture and turbidity-current initiation (ignitive)
processes are primary factors that should be considered in
fan classification.
Some inferences on the ignitive processes responsible for
the turbidity currents that deposited the Burwash Formation
turbidite beds can be made based on (i) the grain sizes
observed, (ii) the immature nature of the sediments, (iii) the
style of sedimentation, and (iv) the volcanically active tec-
tonic environment. The texturally and compositionally im-
mature character of the sediments suggests that the sediment
supply to the basin may have been via short, high-energy
river systems (Piper and Normark 2001). The presence of
sandstone beds with abundant intraclasts suggests that
slumping, resulting from rapid sediment accumulation, may
have also been an important initiation mechanism. An observed
association of black slates with felsic volcanic tuffs suggests
that coarse sediment supply was halted during volcanic ac-
tivity, possibly indicating that uplift of the basin floor caused
turbidity currents to be diverted away from the area.
Piper and Normark (2001) identified four types of submarine
fans based on the size of the source (small versus large river
systems) and the ignitive process. In this scheme, the Burwash
Formation architecture is comparable to type 2 submarine
fans, typically fed by hyperpycnal flows from dirty river deltas
and by associated load-induced slumping. Although Piper
and Normark associate type 2 fans with sea-level changes,
the Burwash Formation may have been influenced more by
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952
tectonic activity. In particular, the sedimentary environment
was clearly allocyclic (externally controlled), resulting in a
relatively poorly organised submarine-fan system, lacking
the clear vertical trends that are characteristic of autocyclic
systems in passive-margin environments.
Implications for Archean deep-water sedimentation
Thick, well-preserved sedimentary successions of Archean
age are not common. The Burwash Formation provides a
unique opportunity to examine an Archean turbidite succession
in which sedimentary features have not been obliterated by
metamorphism and deformation. Overall, the Burwash For-
mation turbidites display characteristics consistent with
those observed in more modern deep-water settings. Details
of sedimentary structures, vertical sequences, and facies
architecture are readily interpreted on the basis of comparison
with modern and Phanerozoic analogues. Individual outcrops
of the Burwash Formation are strikingly similar to Paleozoic
turbidites from the Appalachian Orogen. Thus, in contrast
with terrestrial and shallow-marine sedimentary systems, which
show dramatic secular changes associated with changing
composition of the atmosphere and oceans, it is clear that
deposition in Archean deep-water environments was governed
by the same mechanisms active in modern analogues.
Despite the overall similarities of depositional mechanism,
there are some notable differences in depositional style. The
Burwash system, although areally extensive and thick, devel-
oped relatively thin levee systems, unlike the large, thick,
mud-rich levees that characterize many modern fans, espe-
cially those developed on passive margins. The primary con-
trol on the delivery of sediment into the Burwash basin was
clearly tectonic, in contrast with the eustatic control that has
typically been invoked in modern passive-margin settings
(e.g., Piper and Normark 2001). In addition, the repeated
tuff packages, and the dominantly arkosic composition of
the Burwash sandstones, contrast with most well-studied
Phanerozoic and recent submarine fans, in which lithic and
(or) quartzose compositions predominate and volcanics are
scarce. In these respects, modern arc and back-arc basin
turbidites probably provide better analogues for the Burwash
system, though unfortunately these are much less well known
than major passive-margin fans.
Thick, passive continental margin successions are poorly
represented in the Archean stratigraphic record; it is likely
that true rifted, thermally subsiding, nonvolcanic margins
with thick shelf successions did not appear until the develop-
ment of large continental masses around the end of the
Archean. In the absence of continent-draining river systems,
there were probably no large turbidite bodies comparable to
the modern Mississippi and Amazon fans. It is, therefore,
likely that the majority of Archean turbidite systems were of
the same type as the Burwash Formation, namely immature,
sand-rich, coalescing fans fed from small, volcanically and
tectonically active arc-related source areas.
Conclusions
The Burwash Formation is one of the best preserved Archean
deep-marine successions, in which lateral correlation allows
the identification of architectural elements comparable to
those in modern fans. The succession records the development
Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 42, 2005
of a basin as a result of rifting of earlier-formed arc-like
crust and the accumulation of turbidites interspersed with
tuffs derived from nearby volcanoes. The depositional sys-
tem included ephemeral sand-filled channels and flanking
muddy levees. Interchannel sands, probably recording avul-
sion and abandonment of channels, form an important part
of the succession. They are comparable in depositional style
to HARP sands recorded in the Amazon fan.
In most characteristics, the Archean turbidites of the Burwash
Formation are similar in character to those of Phanerozoic
and recent submarine fans. Channellevee systems are not as
voluminous, however, and overall cyclic character is not as
well developed as in many well-studied modern examples;
most such examples are located on passive margins of large
continents, which may have had no analogues prior to the
stabilization of large continental units in the late Archean.
Acknowledgments
This project was supported by a Lithoprobe Supporting
Geoscience Grant and by Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant A8508,
held by Waldron. This project would not have been possible
without field support provided through the Geological Survey
of Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. We are
grateful to Carolyn Relf and the staff of the former C.S.
Lord Geoscience Centre (now Northwest Territories
Geoscience Office) in Yellowknife. We thank journal referees
Darrel Long and Patricia Corcoran and Associate Editor
Kevin Ansdell for their helpful comments. Gerry Ross and
David Piper provided useful discussions of the thesis on
which this paper is based. We acknowledge the help of assis-
tants Michelle DeYoung and Robert Cuthbert in collecting the
data, Ken Wallace in drafting diagrams, and the support of
Robin Wotherspoon of Watta Lake Lodge and Don and Lucy
Stretch of Hearne Lake Lodge.
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