Sedimentology and paleontology of the lower Jurassic Scots Bay Formation, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada

The rocks of Scots Bay Formation occur only along the south shore of the Bay of Fundy where they are exposed in small coves from east of Baxters Harbour to west of Scots Bay, Nova Scotia. Lithologically, the Scots Bay Formation is dominated by clastic sediments, including sandstone, silty sandstone, conglomeratic sandstone, and shale. Carbonate and silicified carbonate rocks include calcareous sandstone, packstone, mudstone, wackestone, and stromatolitic limestone. Jasperoid chert nodules and bedded cherts are common throughout much of the formation.; Four environmental facies are recognized in ascending order: (1) marginal channeling facies, (2) shoreline facies, (3) nearshore facies (basal and upper units), and (4) offshore facies.; Meanwhile, litharenitic sandstone was deposited along the shoreline which is present now as the top unit of the Scots Bay sequence.; Fossils in the Jurassic Scots Bay Formation are rare and mostly silicified. They include a relatively low diversity of ostracodes, small gastropods, small clams, invertebrate burrows, fragments of charophyte stems, freshwater stromatolites, rare ferns, and log and wood fragments.; Sedimentary facies in the Scots Bay Formation do not vary widely from outcrop to outcrop. Interpretation of their depositional environments is based on paleoecological and sedimentological criteria.; The fossil assemblages and the stratigraphic position of the Scots Bay Formation suggest an Early Jurassic age. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...