Southern Province (Canadian Shield)
Encyclopedia
The Southern Province is a portion of Proterozoic
rock that ranges in age from 2.5 billion to 600 million years old. It represents a subdivion of the much larger Canadian Shield
and forms the bedrock of portions of Ontario
, Canada
and the U.S. state
s of Michigan
and Minnesota
. A few significant geologic features are situated in the Southern Province, including the Midcontinent Rift System
and the Sudbury Igneous Complex
.
Proterozoic
The Proterozoic is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The name Proterozoic comes from the Greek "earlier life"...
rock that ranges in age from 2.5 billion to 600 million years old. It represents a subdivion of the much larger Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
and forms the bedrock of portions of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, 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...
and the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. A few significant geologic features are situated in the Southern Province, including the Midcontinent Rift System
Midcontinent Rift System
The Midcontinent Rift System or Keweenawan Rift is a long geological rift in the center of the North American continent and south-central part of the North American plate. It formed when the continent's core, the North American craton, began to split apart during the Mesoproterozoic era of the...
and the Sudbury Igneous Complex
Sudbury Igneous Complex
The Sudbury Igneous Complex is a 1,844 million year-old impact melt sheet in Greater Sudbury, Northern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Sudbury Basin impact structure, and is classified as a lopolith.-References:*...
.