The Ecstall Greenstone Belt is a north-northwest trending greenstone belt

Greenstone belt

Greenstone belts are zones of variably metamorphosed mafic to ultramafic volcanic sequences with associated sedimentary rocks that occur within Archaean and Proterozoic cratons between granite and gneiss bodies....

 in northwestern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, located in the Kitimat Ranges

Kitimat Ranges

The Kitimat Ranges are one of the three main subdivisions of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, the other being the Pacific Ranges to the south and the Boundary Ranges to the north...

 of the Coast Mountains

Coast Mountains

The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia. They are so-named because of their proximity to the sea coast, and are often...

 between the communities of Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...

 and Kitimat

Kitimat, British Columbia

Kitimat is a coastal city in northwestern British Columbia, in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. The Kitimat Valley, which includes the adjacent community of Terrace, is the most populous urban district in Northwest British Columbia...

. It is 80 km (49.7 mi) long and 3 km (1.9 mi) to 20 km (12.4 mi) wide and represents a small portion of the 2000 km (1,242.7 mi) long Central Gneiss Complex. Rocks of the Ecstall Greenstone Belt are Precambrian

Precambrian

The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...

 and Paleozoic

Paleozoic

The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...

in age.