Sarmatian craton
Encyclopedia
Sarmatian craton is a geological
and tectonics
term for the southern segment/region of the East European craton
also known as Scythian plateau. The craton contains Archaean rocks 2.8 to 3.7 billion years old. During the Carboniferous
Period the craton was rift
ed apart by the Dneiper Donets rift. As a result, geomorphologically the cratonic area is split by the Donbass Fold Belt, also known as a part of the large Pripyat-Dniepr-Donets aulacogen
, which transects Sarmatia, dividing it into the Ukrainian Massif or shield on the southwest and the Voronezh Massif to the northeast.
Sarmatia is made up of several once-independent Archaen land masses that developed at 3.7–2.9, 3.2–3.0, and ~2.7 Ga. 2.3–2.1 Ga orogenic belts now separate these land masses. Sarmatia's northwestern margin has an extensive continental magmatic arc dating back to ~2.0 Ga. At ~200 Ma Sarmatia collided with Fennoscandia.
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and tectonics
Tectonics
Tectonics is a field of study within geology concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere of the Earth and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures.Tectonics is concerned with the orogenies and tectonic development of...
term for the southern segment/region of the East European craton
East European craton
The East European craton is the core of the Baltica proto-plate and consists of three crustal regions/segments: Fennoscandia to the northwest, Volgo-Uralia to the east, and Sarmatia to the south...
also known as Scythian plateau. The craton contains Archaean rocks 2.8 to 3.7 billion years old. During the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
Period the craton was rift
Rift
In geology, a rift or chasm is a place where the Earth's crust and lithosphere are being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics....
ed apart by the Dneiper Donets rift. As a result, geomorphologically the cratonic area is split by the Donbass Fold Belt, also known as a part of the large Pripyat-Dniepr-Donets aulacogen
Aulacogen
In geology, an aulacogen is a failed arm of a triple junction of a plate tectonics rift system. A triple junction beneath a continental plate initiates a three way breakup of the continental plate. As the continental break-up develops one of the three spreading ridges typically fails or stops...
, which transects Sarmatia, dividing it into the Ukrainian Massif or shield on the southwest and the Voronezh Massif to the northeast.
Sarmatia is made up of several once-independent Archaen land masses that developed at 3.7–2.9, 3.2–3.0, and ~2.7 Ga. 2.3–2.1 Ga orogenic belts now separate these land masses. Sarmatia's northwestern margin has an extensive continental magmatic arc dating back to ~2.0 Ga. At ~200 Ma Sarmatia collided with Fennoscandia.