Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt

E803744

The Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt is an ancient rock formation in northern Quebec, Canada, that contains some of the oldest known rocks on Earth, offering key insights into early crustal evolution and the conditions on the young planet.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Archean geological formation
greenstone belt
ageEstimate about 4.28 billion years
older than 3.8 billion years
containsRockType amphibolites
banded iron formations
gabbros
mafic volcanic rocks
sedimentary rocks
ultramafic rocks
country Canada
disputedAspect exact age of formation
interpretation of oldest age as formation vs metamorphic age
dominantLithology mafic amphibolite
formedByProcess oceanic crust formation
subduction-related volcanism
geologicalAge Eoarchean
Hadean NERFINISHED
hasDatingMethod Pb-Pb isotopic dating
Sm-Nd isotopic dating
U-Pb zircon dating
hasMineral amphibole
feldspar
magnetite
pyroxene
quartz
sulfide minerals
hasNameMeaning "slowly moving" in Inuktitut
knownFor containing some of the oldest known rocks on Earth
evidence of early oceanic crust
insights into early Earth crustal evolution
languageOfName Inuktitut NERFINISHED
locatedIn Quebec NERFINISHED
northern Quebec
locatedNear Hudson Bay NERFINISHED
locatedOn Superior Craton NERFINISHED
locatedOnContinent North America
partOf Canadian Shield NERFINISHED
researchSignificance constrains timing of continental crust formation
provides clues to early ocean chemistry
records early Earth tectonic processes
used to study early Earth heat flow
studiedBy geochemists
geochronologists
geologists
underwentProcess deformation
high-grade metamorphism
hydrothermal alteration

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Eoarchean Era hasRockRecord Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt