Great Falls to Wolf Creek (Via I-15)

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Route

Start point

Great Falls, MT

End point

Wolf Creek, MT

Roads (and Trails)

5th Street, 10th Avenue, I-15

Total distance

53.8 miles

Geology

Summary

Great Falls is underlain by the Lower Cretaceous Kootenai Formation (Aptian), a series of red sandstones and shales which is considered to have been deposited in a "mostly" nonmarine environment. The city is on a crest of a broad northwest-plunging anticline called the South Arch, which lies just east of the Montana Thrust Belt. As we drive southwestward towards the Montanta Thrust Belt today, we will travel off the northwest flank of the South Arch. This will take us gradually from Lower Cretaceous to Upper Cretaceous outcrops until we reach the edge of the mountain front.

Key Lithologic Features

Structures

Landforms

Other Features


Reference

Hansen, W.B., 2000, Great Falls to Wolf Creek (Via I-15)in Schalla, R.A., and Johnson, E.H., eds., Montana/Alberta Thrust Belt and Adjacent Foreland. Volume II: Road Logs, Presentation Abstracts, and Foothills Analyses : Montana Geological Society, p. 35-40.

Availability

Order from the Montana Geological Society. Go to the MGS website for ordering information.

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