Biostratigraphically useful Late Cretaceous-Paleocene Terrestrial palynomorphs from the Canadian Western Interior Sedimentary Basin

The northern part of the North American Western Interior Sedimentary Basin has yielded well-preserved terrestrial palynomorphs whose occurrences allow the biostratigraphic characterization of the basin. Data have been compiled from sections that in composite span the latest Turonian to Paleocene. These data allow for the identification of species that are biostratigraphically useful within Alberta and adjacent portions of the basin. Progress has been made in establishing a stable biostratigraphic context for the basin using the first and last occurrences of 103 taxa. These palynomorphs provide a refined chronostratigraphic framework when combined with radiometric ages, polarity chronologies and ammonite biozonations. This framework has allowed the intrabasinal correlation of widely distributed sections in the Alberta and Montana portion of the basin and can be applied to stratigraphic problems in the more northern portion of the Western Interior Basin.