Balder Formation

The Balder Formation is a geological formation of lowermost Eocene in age, found in the Central and Northern North Sea and Faroe-Shetland Basin.[1] 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.[2]

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

References

1. British Geological Survey. "Balder Formation". The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units.
2. Morton A.C.; Knox R.W.O'B. "Geochemistry of late Palaeocene and early Eocene tephras from the North Sea Basin" (PDF). Journal of the Geological Society, London. 147 (3): 425–437. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.147.3.0425.