Early Cretaceous continental-scale sediment routing, the McMurray Formation, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Alberta, Canada

Alternative depositional models for the Early Cretaceous McMurray Formation between a dominantly continental and marginal marine settings remain controversial topic. The source-to-sink model can be inverted to reconstruct ancient sediment-routing systems by utilizing methods estimate drainage basins, which contribute understanding of sediment routing testing alternative models. New detrital zircon U-Pb ages from 31 samples were analyzed identify source terranes overlying Wabiskaw Member Clearwater test first-generation maximum ages. In total, 9729 new concordant identified multiple within an interpreted continental-scale paleodrainage basin that extended SW SE United States eastern Canada. then expanded include Western Cordillera arc system Upper Mannville Group. Multidimensional scaling mixing independently support paleo-upstream primary recycled sources in axial paleo-downstream confluence this east-derived Canada, display evolution bedrock-confined alluvial morphology lower middle-upper Formation. current dataset constrains age latest Barremian Aptian, with range ca. 122 115 Ma, is significantly younger than previously reported. Age estimates units 110 Ma statistically overlap age, suggesting continuous deposition lasted 10−12 m.y. or less.