page_title: McMurray Formation
section_title: Distribution
hierarchical_section_title: McMurray Formation / Stratigraphy / Distribution
caption_attribution_description: English: Outcrop of the McMurray Formation (black) and underlying Waterways Formation (tan)
context_page_description: The McMurray Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous age of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in northeastern Alberta. It takes the name from Fort McMurray and was first described from outcrops along the banks of the Athabasca River 5 kilometres north of Fort McMurray by F.H. McLearn in 1917. It is a well-studied example of fluvial to estuarine sedimentation, and it is economically important because it hosts most of the vast bitumen resources of the Athabasca Oil Sands region.
context_section_description: The McMurray Formation outcrops along the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers and their tributaries near Fort McMurray in the Athabasca Oil Sands of northeastern Alberta, where it averages about 60 metres (200 ft) thick. It thins eastward into Saskatchewan where, in most areas, it is devoid of bitumen. It has been removed by erosion north of the Athabasca Oil Sands area.
caption: Outcrop of the McMurray Formation (black and dark grey) and underlying Waterways Formation (tan) on the Steepbank River.
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