| Balder Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Earliest Eocene ~55–52 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ | |
| Type | Formation |
| Unit of | Moray Group |
| Underlies | Horda, Mousa or Tay Formation |
| Overlies | Sele or Dornoch Formation, Montrose Group |
| Thickness | 30–300 m (98–984 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Mudstone, tuff |
| Other | Sandstone |
| Location | |
| Region | Offshore; subsurface |
| Country |  United Kingdom Norway Denmark |
| Extent | Central and northern North Sea, Faroe-Shetland Basin |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Balder, Norse deity |
The Balder Formation is a geological formation of lowermost Eocene in age, found in the Central and Northern North Sea and Faroe-Shetland Basin. The formation is named after Balder, a god from Norse mythology. Layers of tuff are found, particularly at the base of the unit, deposited by airfall from volcanoes associated with the North Atlantic Igneous Province.
References
- British Geological Survey. "Balder Formation". The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units.
- Morton A.C.; Knox R.W.O'B (1990). "Geochemistry of late Palaeocene and early Eocene tephras from the North Sea Basin" (PDF). Journal of the Geological Society, London. 147 (3): 425–437. Bibcode:1990JGSoc.147..425M. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.147.3.0425.