Slide Mountain Ocean
Encyclopedia
The Slide Mountain Ocean was an ancient ocean
that existed between the Intermontane Islands
and North America
in the Triassic
time beginning around 245 million years ago. Its name origin comes from the Slide Mountain Terrane
, a region made of rocks from the floor of the ancient ocean. There was a subduction zone on the Slide Mountain Oceans floor called the Intermontane Trench
where the Intermontane Plate
was being subducted under North America. The floor of the Slide Mountain Ocean was pushed up onto the ancient margin of North America.
The namesake of the Slide Mountain Ocean is Slide Mountain in the Canadian province of British Columbia
, lying on the north side of the Quesnel River
.
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
that existed between the Intermontane Islands
Intermontane Islands
The Intermontane Islands were a giant chain of active volcanic islands somewhere in the Pacific Ocean during the Triassic time beginning around 245 million years ago. They were 600 to long and rode atop a microplate known as the Intermontane Plate...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
time beginning around 245 million years ago. Its name origin comes from the Slide Mountain Terrane
Slide Mountain Terrane
The Slide Mountain Terrane is a late Paleozoic terrane made of a complex of oceanic rocks in northern and southern British Columbia, Canada. These oceanic rocks were derived from the seafloor of the prehistoric Slide Mountain Ocean, the Intermontane Plate, which was subducted under the North...
, a region made of rocks from the floor of the ancient ocean. There was a subduction zone on the Slide Mountain Oceans floor called the Intermontane Trench
Intermontane Trench
The Intermontane Trench was an ancient oceanic trench during the Triassic time. The trench was probably 600 to 800 miles long, parallel to the west coast of North America. The ocean that the trench was located in was called the Slide Mountain Ocean....
where the Intermontane Plate
Intermontane Plate
The Intermontane Plate was an ancient oceanic tectonic plate that lay on the west coast of North America about 195 million years ago. The Intermontane Plate had a chain of volcanic islands called the Intermontane Islands. The Intermontane Islands had been accumulating as a volcanic chain in the...
was being subducted under North America. The floor of the Slide Mountain Ocean was pushed up onto the ancient margin of North America.
The namesake of the Slide Mountain Ocean is Slide Mountain in the Canadian province of 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...
, lying on the north side of the Quesnel River
Quesnel River
The Quesnel River is a major tributary of the Fraser River in the Cariboo District of central British Columbia. It begins at the outflow of Quesnel Lake, at the town of Likely and flows for about northwest to its confluence with the Fraser at the city of Quesnel.- History :Just downstream from...
.