earth science

Wordie Creek Formation

Wordie Creek Formation is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wordie Creek Formation rather than just read about it. In short: The Wordie Creek Formation is an uppermost Permian and Lower Triassic geologic formation in Greenland, outcrops of which are located in Northeast Greenland National Park (until 2008 Tunu County, Danish: Østgrønland, English: East Greenland). In 2017, it was suggested to be raised to group status, as the Wordie Creek Group.

Key takeaways

Wordie Creek Formation belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wordie Creek Formation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wordie Creek Formation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Wordie Creek Formation is an uppermost Permian and Lower Triassic geologic formation in Greenland, outcrops of which are located in Northeast Greenland National Park (until 2008 Tunu County, Danish: Østgrønland, English: East Greenland). In 2017, it was suggested to be raised to group status, as the Wordie Creek Group. The Lower Triassic sediments in the region were discovered in 1926 independently by James Wordie and Lauge Koch, and the latter named the formation. The rock layers preserve fossils of invertebrates (e.g., ammonoids, gastropods), fishes (coelacanths, ray-finned fish, cartilaginous fish) and temnospondyl amphibians, dating back to the Induan age.

Geology Following Surlyk et al., the Wordie Creek Group is subdivided into two formations, the Kap Stosch Formation and the overlying Godthåb Golf Formation. The Kap Stosch Formation was deposited in relatively deep, partly isolated turbiditic basin, and the Godthåb Golf Formation under relatively shallow marine conditions. In 1935, Eigil Nielsen recognized five fossil-bearing horizons ("fish zones 1–5") corresponding to three ammonoid zones (in ascending order):

Otoceras zone ("fish zones 1 and 2") Vishnuites zone ("fish zones 3 and 4") Proptychites zone ("fish zone 5") The first two ammonoid zones are Griesbachian in age and the last one is Dienerian in age (Induan). The Kap Stosch Formation corresponds to these three zones. A sixth fossiliferous layer, the "Stegocephalian horizon", is present above, which belongs to the Godthåb Golf Formation (Dienerian). The Hypophiceras triviale ammonoid zone below Nielsen's "fish zones" is dated late Changhsingian. The Kap Stosch Formation is subdivided into the following eight members (in ascending order):

Nebalopok Member (upper Changhsingian–lower Griesbachian) Immaqa Member (lower Griesbachian) Fiskeplateau Member (lower Griesbachian) Knolden Member (lower Griesbachian) Pyramiden Member (lower–upper Griesbachian) Naasut Member (upper Griesbachian) Falkeryg Member (lower Dienerian) Vestplateau Member (lower Dienerian) The Godthåb Golf Formation is not subdivided into members.

Paleobiota A diverse vertebrate fauna composed of temnospondyl amphibians and fishes is known from the formation. Fossil fishes are also known from the Permian Ravnefjeld Formation ("Posidonomya shale") of Greenland.

Amphibians

Fish

Lobe-finned

Ray-finned

Cartilaginous

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wordie Creek Formation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wordie Creek Formation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wordie Creek Formation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wordie Creek Formation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wordie Creek Formation

In research: Wordie Creek Formation appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wordie Creek Formation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wordie Creek Formation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Geologic formations of Greenland, Geology of Greenland, Paleontology in Greenland, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wordie Creek Formation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wordie Creek Formation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wordie Creek Formation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wordie Creek Formation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wordie Creek Formation in simple terms?

Why does Wordie Creek Formation matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wordie Creek Formation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wordie Creek Formation.