Laurentian craton
E791038
The Laurentian craton is the ancient, stable core of the North American continent, composed of some of Earth’s oldest rocks and forming the geological foundation of much of Canada and parts of the United States.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Laurentian craton canonical | 1 |
Statements (59)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
craton
ⓘ
geological province ⓘ |
| age | up to about 4.0 billion years ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Laurentia
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
North American craton NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
copper deposits
ⓘ
diamond-bearing kimberlites ⓘ gold deposits ⓘ mineral resources ⓘ nickel deposits ⓘ |
| boundedBy |
Appalachian orogen
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Cordilleran orogen NERFINISHED ⓘ Innuitian orogen NERFINISHED ⓘ Phanerozoic orogenic belts NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| characterizedBy |
ancient metamorphic rocks
ⓘ
exposed shield areas ⓘ low heat flow ⓘ tectonic stability ⓘ thick continental lithosphere ⓘ |
| composedOf |
Archean rocks
ⓘ
Proterozoic rocks ⓘ granite-greenstone belts ⓘ high-grade gneiss complexes ⓘ mafic volcanic rocks ⓘ metasedimentary rocks ⓘ |
| contains | some of Earth’s oldest rocks ⓘ |
| coveredBy | thin sedimentary cover in many areas ⓘ |
| erosionalExpression | shield ⓘ |
| extendsInto | Greenland NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| formedBy |
Proterozoic orogenic events
ⓘ
accretion of smaller Archean cratons ⓘ |
| formedDuring | Precambrian Eon NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geologicalAge |
Archean
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Mesoproterozoic ⓘ Paleoproterozoic ⓘ |
| hasPart |
Canadian Shield
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Churchill Province NERFINISHED ⓘ Grenville Province NERFINISHED ⓘ Hearne craton NERFINISHED ⓘ Nain craton NERFINISHED ⓘ Rae craton NERFINISHED ⓘ Slave craton NERFINISHED ⓘ Superior Province NERFINISHED ⓘ Superior craton ⓘ Wyoming craton NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| importantFor |
reconstructing Precambrian supercontinents
ⓘ
understanding early continental crust evolution ⓘ |
| lithosphereThickness | up to about 200–250 km ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
Canada
ⓘ
United States of America ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| partOf | North American continent NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| playedRoleIn |
assembly of supercontinent Pangea
ⓘ
assembly of supercontinent Rodinia ⓘ |
| surroundedBy | younger sedimentary basins ⓘ |
| underlies |
Canadian Shield region
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Greenland margins ⓘ Hudson Bay region NERFINISHED ⓘ much of Canada ⓘ parts of the United States ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.