Bedrock mapping and stratigraphic studies in the Mackenzie Mountains, Franklin Mountains, Colville Hills, and adjacent areas of the Northwest Territories, Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals program 2009-2019

Abstract

The Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM) program provided an opportunity to update bedrock geological maps for nearly 92 000 km2 of the northwestern portion of the mainland area of the Northwest Territories. Twenty-four new maps (at the scale of 1:100 000 or 1:250 000) cover a region from the Colville Hills southwestward into the Mackenzie Mountains, including areas of significant mineral and energy resource potential. New mapping was informed by archived Geological Survey of Canada data, notably from Operation Norman (1968-1970), as well as by public-domain industry data. Maps incorporate numerous stratigraphic revisions that postdate Operation Norman, including GEM program innovations affecting Neoproterozoic (specifically Tonian and Ediacaran), Cambrian, and Ordovician units. In this paper, the mapping effort and stratigraphic revisions are documented, a preliminary treatment of structural geology is provided, and related subsurface studies are summarized. Following GEM, GIS-enabled bedrock maps will be available for a swath of territory stretching from the edge of the Selwyn Basin, near the Yukon border, to the Brock Inlier in the northeastern portion of the mainland area of the Northwest Territories.