Lower Cretaceous strata in the Liard Basin of northeastern British Columbia, southwestern Yukon Territory and southwestern Northwest Territories consist of fluvial to shoreline sediments of the Chinkeh Formation overlain by marine shale of the Garbutt Formation and sandstone and shale of the Scatter Formation. The Garbutt Formation was deposited during a major marine transgression and inundation of the Lower Cretaceous Chinkeh Formation and older strata. Sandstone interbeds containing wave ripples, combined flow ripples and hummocky cross-stratification were deposited during storms. The Scatter Formation consists of silty to very fine grained, moderately well to well sorted, matrix-rich, subangular to subrounded, moderately to poorly porous, glauconitic lithic rich sandstones. Sandstones of the Tussock and Bulwell members were deposited in an open water, shallow marine shelf to shoreface setting. The predominance of hummocky cross-stratification and wave ripple lamination indicates a storm-dominated environment. No evidence of subaerial exposure was found. Isopachs of the Scatter Formation and paleocurrent data define two major depocentres situated in the Crow River to Scatter River area and in the southwest. The occurrence of slump deposits in the Garbutt Formation on the Scatter River is consistent with the area having high sedimentation rates, near a major depocentre. The major sediment sources were to the west and southwest of the Liard Basin. The hydrocarbon potential of the Scatter Formation is largely untested, despite extremely thick sandstone bodies being present. No hydrocarbons have been produced yet from the few wells in the interval, but oil staining and gas-to-surface has been reported.