The Abitibi greenstone belt
Submarine volcanoes build a slice of crust in Canada that will become one of the richest on Earth.
- When
- Known to
- ± 20 million years
- Era
- Neoarchean, Archean
Continuous mafic to felsic submarine volcanism and plutonism from about 2,740 to 2,660 million years ago constructs the largest Archean greenstone belt in the world, spanning Ontario and Quebec. It preserves pillow lavas, volcanic ash and sediments from a late Archean ocean floor, and it hosts one of the greatest concentrations of gold and base metals anywhere.