Acasta gneiss

rock

Learn about this topic in these articles:

occurrence in Canadian Shield

  • Archean Eon
    In Archean Eon

    …oldest rocks are the 4-billion-year-old Acasta granitic gneisses in northwestern Canada, and a single relict zircon grain dated to 4.2 billion years ago was found within these gneisses. Other ancient sediments and lavas occur in the 3.85-billion-year-old Isua belt of western Greenland (which is similar to an accretionary wedge in…

    Read More
  • North America
    In North America: 4.6 to 3.0 billion years ago

    …uranium-lead technique revealed that the Acasta gneisses, which occur southeast of Great Bear Lake in the northwestern corner of the shield, were at least 3.8 billion (and possibly up to 3.96 billion) years old. In the northeastern part of the shield, rocks as old as 3.8 billion years are found…

    Read More