Canadian Amber; (Cool eh?)



Yes, believe it or not there are Amber deposits in Canada, and they are one of the most important paleontological Ambers in the world.

This is a piece of Canadian Amber (var. Retinite), upper Cretaceous in age, found NW of Cedar Lake,at the mouth of the Saskatchewan River, Manitoba. The insect seen is probably a species of Diptheria, (Royal Canadian Museum of Nature Catalogue #: 54263).
This image was taken with the aid of Richard Day, B.Sc., from the Royal Canadian Museum of Nature, Research Building.





Canadian Amber, when undisturbed lies along bedding planes in coal or carbonaceous sediments. The thinner strata of low-grade coal and lignite seem to bear more amber then the thicker, higher grade coal layers. Canadian Amber tends however to be found in secondary positions, sometimes being concentrated on the surface of the ground at, or immediately downslope from coal outcrops, (Langenheim et al. 1960)