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 (4)

Label Occurrences
North American craton 10
Laurentian craton canonical 5
North American Craton 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (59)

Predicate Object
instanceOf craton
geological province
age up to about 4.0 billion years
alsoKnownAs Laurentia
North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
associatedWith copper deposits
diamond-bearing kimberlites
gold deposits
mineral resources
nickel deposits
boundedBy Appalachian orogen
Cordilleran orogen
Innuitian orogen
linked to: Innuitian orogeny

Phanerozoic orogenic belts
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
formedBy Proterozoic orogenic events
accretion of smaller Archean cratons
formedDuring Precambrian Eon
geologicalAge Archean
linked to: Archean Eon

Mesoproterozoic
Paleoproterozoic
hasPart Canadian Shield
Churchill Province
Grenville Province
Hearne craton
Nain craton
Rae craton
Slave craton
Superior Province
Superior craton
Wyoming craton
importantFor reconstructing Precambrian supercontinents
understanding early continental crust evolution
lithosphereThickness up to about 200–250 km
locatedIn Canada
United States
partOf North American continent
linked to: North America
playedRoleIn assembly of supercontinent Pangea
assembly of supercontinent Rodinia
surroundedBy younger sedimentary basins
underlies Canadian Shield region
linked to: Canadian Shield

Greenland margins
Hudson Bay region
much of Canada
parts of the United States

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (17)

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

Grenville orogenic belt partOf Laurentian craton
Slave Geological Province partOf North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Trans-Hudson orogeny continentInvolved North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Greenland Shield partOf North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Greenland Shield isPartOf Laurentian craton
Wopmay orogeny continentAffected North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Superior craton partOf North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Wyoming craton formsPartOf North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Nain craton partOf North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Nain craton partOf Laurentian craton
Rae craton partOf North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Precambrian Shield formation partOf North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Grenville Province locatedIn Laurentian craton
Llano Uplift partOf North American Craton
subject linked to: Llano uplift
linked to: Laurentian craton
Laurentian craton alsoKnownAs North American craton
linked to: Laurentian craton
Pinwarian orogeny affects Laurentian craton
Lac à l’Eau Claire geologicalProvince Precambrian Shield
linked to: Laurentian craton