17 Facts About Canadian Shield

1.

Canadian Shield, called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks.

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2.

Canadian Shield is a physiographic division comprising four smaller physiographic provinces: the Laurentian Upland, Kazan Region, Davis and James.

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3.

The Canadian Shield is a U-shaped subsection of the Laurentia craton signifying the area of greatest glacial impact creating the thin soils.

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4.

The Canadian Shield once had jagged peaks, higher than any of today's mountains, but millions of years of erosion have changed these mountains to rolling hills.

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5.

Canadian Shield is a collage of Archean plates and accreted juvenile arc terranes and sedimentary basins of the Proterozoic Eon that were progressively amalgamated during the interval 2.

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6.

The Canadian Shield was the first part of North America to be permanently elevated above sea level and has remained almost wholly untouched by successive encroachments of the sea upon the continent.

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7.

The true extent of the Canadian Shield is greater still and stretches from the Western Cordillera in the west to the Appalachians in the east and as far south as Texas, but these regions are overlaid with much younger rocks and sediment.

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8.

Canadian Shield is among the oldest on Earth, with regions dating from 2.

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9.

The Canadian Shield was originally an area of very large, very tall mountains with much volcanic activity, but the area was eroded to nearly its current topographic appearance of relatively low relief over 500 million years ago.

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10.

The Canadian Shield contains the Mackenzie dike swarm, which is the largest dike swarm known on Earth.

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11.

North American craton is the bedrock forming the heart of the North American continent and the Canadian Shield is the largest exposed part of the craton's bedrock.

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12.

Canadian Shield is part of an ancient continent called Arctica, which was formed about 2.

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13.

Current surface expression of the Canadian Shield is one of very thin soil lying on top of the bedrock, with many bare outcrops.

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14.

Lowlands of the Canadian Shield have a very dense soil that is not suitable for forestation; it contains many marshes and bogs .

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15.

Canadian Shield is covered in parts by vast boreal forests in the south that support natural ecosystems as well as a major logging industry.

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16.

Canadian Shield is one of the world's richest areas in terms of mineral ores.

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17.

Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Canadian Shield since the Sudbury Basin is an ancient meteorite impact crater.

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