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Cantari Shale Formation
Click to display on map of the Ancient World at:
Cantari Shale Fm base reconstruction

Cantari Shale Fm


Period: 
Cambrian

Age Interval: 
middle Cambrian


Province: 
Senegal Basin

Type Locality and Naming

Synonym: Cantari Shale, Cantari Fm

References: Brownfield and Charpentier, 2003

[Fig. 1. Generalized map of the central and southern parts of the Senegal Basin showing part of the Senegal Province, the Mauritania, Northern, and Casamance subbasins, the Mesozoic carbonate platform edge, the northern and southern salt basins, the Mauritanide Mountains, the Bové Basin, Deep Sea Drilling Project sites 367 and 368, the 2-second sediment isopach, and the onshore depth to basement isopachs (Brownfield and Charpentier, 2003)]

[Fig. 2: Generalized stratigraphic column for the Northern subbasin and the southern part of the Mauritania subbasins (Brownfield and Charpentier, 2003).]


Lithology and Thickness

The Cantari Shale is about 500m thick and is made up of shale. It is part of the pre-rift units of the Senegal Basin (Brownfield and Charpentier, 2003). The Cambrian sedimentary section is as much as 1,250 m thick and contains three units: the Pirada Shale, the Cantari Shale, and the Caium Sandstone.


Lithology Pattern: 
Claystone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

Pirada Shale Fm (conformable)

Upper contact

Caium Sandstone Fm (conformable)

Regional extent

Senegal Province, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, Northwest Africa


GeoJSON

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Fossils


Age 

middle Cambrian

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Cambrian Stage 3

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.00

    Beginning date (Ma): 
521.00

    Ending stage: 
Guzhangian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
497.00

Depositional setting


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

Enam O. Obiosio, Solomon Joshua Avong, Henry Nasir Suleiman, Rebecca Bobick (and Wen Du), modified from Brownfield, M.E. and Charpentier, R.R., 2003. "Assessment of the Undiscovered Oil and Gas of the Senegal Province, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, Northwest Africa", U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2207-A, 1-26.