Acasta Gneiss Complex
E803743
The Acasta Gneiss Complex is one of the oldest known rock formations on Earth, consisting of highly metamorphosed ancient continental crust located in the Canadian Shield of Northwest Territories, Canada.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Archean terrane
ⓘ
gneiss complex ⓘ rock formation ⓘ |
| ageRange | approximately 4.03–3.6 billion years ⓘ |
| composition |
amphibole
ⓘ
biotite ⓘ feldspar ⓘ quartz ⓘ |
| contains |
Eoarchean rocks
ⓘ
Neoarchean rocks ⓘ |
| containsRockWithAge |
4.0 billion years
ⓘ
4.02 billion years ⓘ 4.03 billion years ⓘ |
| continent | North America ⓘ |
| country | Canada ⓘ |
| crustType | continental crust ⓘ |
| datingMethod | U-Pb zircon geochronology ⓘ |
| discoveredBy | geologists of the Geological Survey of Canada ⓘ |
| discoveryPeriod | 1980s ⓘ |
| geologicalAge | Archean ⓘ |
| hostRockType | tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite suite ⓘ |
| knownFor |
being among the oldest known rocks on Earth
ⓘ
preserving early continental crust ⓘ |
| lithology |
granite gneiss
ⓘ
granodioritic gneiss ⓘ orthogneiss ⓘ paragneiss ⓘ tonalitic gneiss ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
Canadian Shield
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Northwest Territories NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedNear | Acasta River NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedNorthwestOf | Yellowknife NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedOn | Slave craton NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| metamorphicFacies | amphibolite to granulite facies ⓘ |
| metamorphicGrade | high-grade metamorphism ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Acasta River NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| oldestDatedRockAge | about 4.03 billion years ⓘ |
| partOf | Slave Province NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| region | northwestern Canadian Shield ⓘ |
| researchField |
Precambrian geology
ⓘ
geochronology ⓘ petrology ⓘ |
| significance |
constrains early Earth crust formation
ⓘ
provides evidence for early plate processes ⓘ |
| surfaceExposure | small outcrops ⓘ |
| tectonicSetting | ancient continental crust ⓘ |
| usedAs | reference locality for Earth’s oldest crust ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.