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