Congo Craton
E461992
The Congo Craton is an ancient, stable block of continental crust in central Africa that forms the geological core of much of the Congo Basin.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Congo craton | 2 |
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient continental crust block
ⓘ
craton ⓘ |
| boundedBy |
Damara belt (to the south-southwest, via extensions)
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Lufilian belt NERFINISHED ⓘ Oubanguides belt NERFINISHED ⓘ Pan-African belts NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| continent | Africa ⓘ |
| coveredBy |
Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks
ⓘ
thick sedimentary sequences of the Congo Basin ⓘ |
| economicGeology |
associated with base metal deposits
ⓘ
associated with diamond deposits ⓘ associated with gold deposits ⓘ hosts mineral resources ⓘ |
| formsCoreOf | Congo Basin NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geologicalProvinceOf | Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasAge |
Archean
ⓘ
Paleoproterozoic ⓘ |
| hasFeature |
low heat flow compared to mobile belts
ⓘ
seismic velocity structure typical of stable cratons ⓘ thick, cold lithospheric mantle root ⓘ |
| hasLithology |
Archean granitoid gneisses
ⓘ
Archean greenstone belts ⓘ amphibolites ⓘ banded iron formations ⓘ granulites ⓘ high-grade metamorphic rocks ⓘ |
| hasSubunit |
Angola block
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Kasai block NERFINISHED ⓘ Tanzania Craton (sometimes considered adjacent or related block) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedIn | central Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| oldestRocksAge |
>= 3.0 Ga
ⓘ
Mesoarchean ⓘ |
| partOf |
African Plate
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Gondwana (supercontinent) NERFINISHED ⓘ Precambrian basement of central Africa ⓘ West Gondwana (paleocontinent) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| researchField |
Precambrian geology
ⓘ
craton dynamics ⓘ supercontinent cycles ⓘ |
| stability | tectonically stable ⓘ |
| tectonicHistory |
amalgamated during Archean and Paleoproterozoic orogenies
ⓘ
participated in assembly of Columbia (Nuna) supercontinent ⓘ participated in assembly of Gondwana supercontinent ⓘ participated in assembly of Rodinia supercontinent ⓘ |
| underlies |
Congo Basin
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
parts of Angola ⓘ parts of Cameroon ⓘ parts of Central African Republic ⓘ parts of Democratic Republic of the Congo ⓘ parts of Gabon ⓘ parts of Republic of the Congo ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Proto-Africa
this entity surface form:
Congo craton