Three lithologic units can be recognized in the Mississippian Albert Formation in New Brunswick, Canada: the Dawson Settlement, Frederick Brook, and Hiram Brook Members. Typically non-marine redbeds lie above and below the grayish beds of the oil- and gas-bearing Albert, although marine evaporites also overlie the Albert in the east. Mud balls and mud cracks, plant remains, and abundant wave-formed ripple-marks evidence the continental origin of all three divisions of the formation. In fact, resemblance to the Green River (Eocene) lake-deposited oil shale of the West is remarkable. Trends of the symmetrical ripple-marks (which more-or-less parallel the shoreline) support lithofacies data, and serve to define the limits of Mississippian Lake Albert. Semi-arid to arid evapo itic conditions marked the last stages of Albert deposition.

The principal source of hydrocarbons appears to have been the abundant palaeoniscid fish of the Frederick Brook Member, which are here confirmed as fresh-water lake inhabitants. The possibility of finding similar oil- or gas-bearing lake beds in hitherto-neglected areas of continental deposition is apparent.