[1] It dates to the Statherian Period of the Paleoproterozoic and records mountain-building events associated with the assembly of North America.

The formation consists of about 3,000 feet (910 m) of metavolcanic and metasedimentary rock[1] exposed in the Mazatzal Mountains.

Wilson originally assigned the unit to the Yavapai Group and believed the beds had been metamorphosed in a single "Mazatzal Revolution".

Anderson and S.C. Creasey mapped the unit into the Jerome, Arizona, area, raised it to group rank, and divided it into six formations.

[2] In 1993, Karl Karlstrom and S.A. Bowring divided the Alder Group into the Breadpan, Flying W, Houdon, and Board Cabin Formations.