Barberton Greenstone Belt
E607218
The Barberton Greenstone Belt is one of the oldest and best-preserved pieces of Earth’s early continental crust, renowned for its Archean volcanic and sedimentary rocks that provide key evidence about the planet’s early geological and biological history.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
geological formation
ⓘ
greenstone belt ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Barberton Supergroup NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contains |
Archean sedimentary rocks
ⓘ
Archean volcanic rocks ⓘ Fig Tree Group NERFINISHED ⓘ Moodies Group NERFINISHED ⓘ Onverwacht Group NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country | South Africa ⓘ |
| forms | part of the Barberton Makhonjwa World Heritage Site ⓘ |
| geologicalAge | Archean Eon NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasEconomicResource |
gold
ⓘ
massive sulfide deposits ⓘ |
| hasFeature |
deformed volcanic-sedimentary sequences
ⓘ
low-grade metamorphism ⓘ well-preserved sedimentary structures ⓘ |
| hasFossilType |
microbial mat structures
ⓘ
stromatolite-like structures ⓘ |
| hasRockType |
banded iron formation
ⓘ
basalt ⓘ chert ⓘ komatiite ⓘ mafic volcanic rocks ⓘ sedimentary rocks ⓘ ultramafic volcanic rocks ⓘ |
| isAmong | oldest known greenstone belts on Earth ⓘ |
| knownFor |
early life fossil evidence
ⓘ
evidence of early Earth surface conditions ⓘ well-preserved early continental crust ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
Mpumalanga Province
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
South Africa ⓘ |
| maximumAgeInYears | 3.6 billion years ⓘ |
| minimumAgeInYears | 3.2 billion years ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Barberton NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| near | border with Eswatini ⓘ |
| overlies | older tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite crust ⓘ |
| partOf |
Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Kaapvaal Craton NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| providesEvidenceFor |
early Earth atmosphere composition
ⓘ
early Earth hydrosphere ⓘ early microbial life ⓘ |
| recognizedAs | key site for Archean geology research ⓘ |
| studiedBy |
geochemists
ⓘ
geologists ⓘ paleobiologists ⓘ |
| usedFor |
constraining early biosphere development
ⓘ
reconstructing early plate tectonic processes ⓘ studying early crustal evolution ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.