Western Interior Basin

E364208

geologic basin paleogeographic region sedimentary basin

The Western Interior Basin was a vast sedimentary basin that covered much of central North America during the Late Cretaceous, hosting extensive marine and terrestrial environments preserved in formations like Hell Creek.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Western Interior Basin canonical	8
Western Interior of North America	6
Dakota Group (regional usage in parts of the Western Interior)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3502392 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Western Interior Basin
Context triple: [Hell Creek Formation, partOf, Western Interior Basin]

A. Great Plains margin
The Great Plains margin is the transitional geographic zone where the flat interior plains of central North America give way to more dissected terrain and upland regions to the east and west.
B. Central Basin
Central Basin is a prominent water feature within Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin, known for its formal, landscaped surroundings and proximity to key national institutions.
C. Great Plains
The Great Plains is a vast, mostly flat grassland region in central North America known for its prairies, agriculture, and continental climate.
D. Mid-Continent Region
The Mid-Continent Region is a regional office of the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement responsible for overseeing coal mining regulation and land reclamation in the central United States.
E. Canada Basin
The Canada Basin is a deep, remote submarine basin in the Arctic Ocean, located north of Alaska and Canada, known for its extreme depths, perennial sea ice cover, and importance to polar oceanographic research.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Western Interior Basin
Target entity description: The Western Interior Basin was a vast sedimentary basin that covered much of central North America during the Late Cretaceous, hosting extensive marine and terrestrial environments preserved in formations like Hell Creek.

A. Great Plains margin
The Great Plains margin is the transitional geographic zone where the flat interior plains of central North America give way to more dissected terrain and upland regions to the east and west.
B. Central Basin
Central Basin is a prominent water feature within Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin, known for its formal, landscaped surroundings and proximity to key national institutions.
C. Great Plains
The Great Plains is a vast, mostly flat grassland region in central North America known for its prairies, agriculture, and continental climate.
D. Mid-Continent Region
The Mid-Continent Region is a regional office of the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement responsible for overseeing coal mining regulation and land reclamation in the central United States.
E. Canada Basin
The Canada Basin is a deep, remote submarine basin in the Arctic Ocean, located north of Alaska and Canada, known for its extreme depths, perennial sea ice cover, and importance to polar oceanographic research.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	geologic basin ⓘ paleogeographic region ⓘ sedimentary basin ⓘ
activeDuring	Late Cretaceous ⓘ Mesozoic ⓘ
boundedBy	Laramide uplifts ⓘ linked to: Laramide orogeny Sevier orogenic belt ⓘ linked to: Sevier orogeny
contains	Western Interior Seaway ⓘ
extendsInto	Canada ⓘ Mexico ⓘ United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
filledBy	carbonate sediments ⓘ clastic sediments ⓘ
formedAs	foreland basin ⓘ
formedBy	tectonic loading from Sevier orogeny ⓘ
hasLithology	coal ⓘ limestone ⓘ mudstone ⓘ sandstone ⓘ shale ⓘ
hasStratigraphicRecord	thick sedimentary successions ⓘ
hostedEnvironment	coastal environments ⓘ deltaic environments ⓘ fluvial environments ⓘ foreland basin environments ⓘ marine environments ⓘ terrestrial environments ⓘ
includesFormation	Benton Shale ⓘ linked to: Graneros Shale Dakota Formation ⓘ Hell Creek Formation ⓘ Judith River Formation ⓘ Mancos Shale ⓘ linked to: Graneros Shale Niobrara Formation ⓘ linked to: Niobrara Chalk Pierre Shale ⓘ Two Medicine Formation ⓘ
knownFor	dinosaur fossils ⓘ invertebrate fossils ⓘ marine reptile fossils ⓘ microfossils ⓘ rich fossil record ⓘ
locatedIn	Western Interior of North America ⓘ linked to: Western Interior Basin central North America ⓘ
paleogeographicRole	link between Arctic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico via Western Interior Seaway ⓘ
partOf	North American continent ⓘ linked to: North America
preserves	Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary in some formations ⓘ
researchField	paleontology ⓘ sedimentology ⓘ stratigraphy ⓘ
timeSpan	approximately 100 to 66 million years ago ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (15)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hell Creek Formation → partOf → Western Interior Basin ⓘ

Dakota Formation → geologicProvince → Western Interior Basin ⓘ

Fox Hills Formation → partOf → Western Interior Basin ⓘ

Pierre Shale → stratigraphicUnitOf → Western Interior Basin ⓘ

Western Interior Basin → locatedIn → Western Interior of North America ⓘ