Talk:Canadian Shield
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[edit] Map?
A map would be nice —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.9.173.226 (talk • contribs) 20:38, 22 March 2005 (UTC)
- Good idea. There is one now. Thanks, User:Tomf688! (SEWilco 19:27, 11 October 2005 (UTC))
[edit] IP users version
User_talk:64.25.167.132 uploaded a new version of the page, I am not sure if any of this is worth incorporating. There was no source provided. -Ravedave 04:51, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
The Canadian Shield is the geographic foundation of Canada. The Shield underlies not only much of Canada but also parts of the United States. More than half of Canada is covered by the Shield. Some of the world's oldest rocks (3.96 billion years old) are located in the Shield near Great Slave Lake. Today, most of the Shield is relatively flat with rounded hills of rock which are actually the roots of ancient mountains. Two types of rock, igneous and metamorphic, form most of the Shield. They contain valuable minerals in great quantities. Because of the vast deposits of lead,gold,nickel,copper,zinc,and other important metals, the Canadian Shield is often called the stonehouse of Canada's Metallic minerals. In addition, diamonds have recently been found where ancient volcanoes once existed. How were mineral deposits formed in the rock of the Shield? Minerals were present in magma (molten rock) beneath the earth's crust. As magma rose toward the surface, it forced it's way into cracks and cavities in the shield rock. This process of magma slowly rising toward the surface took thousands or millions of years. As it cooled, some minerals were deposited in the magma itself. Other deposits were formed when minerals, dissolved in very hot water, were forced deep into cracks in the surrounding rock. This process allowed minerals to be deposited in high concentrations which makes mining worthwhile.
As the minerals slowly cooled, they separated into layers according to their density. The lighter ones floated on top of the heavier ones. Those that had similar density floated to the same level. Nickel and copper are often found together because they have similar densities. Mining companies are attracted to the Shield because of the presence of metallic minerals. Many cities and towns, such as Sudbury in Ontario, Thompson in Manitoba, and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, rely on the mining industry for jobs. The mineral ores are smelted to remove waste materials. The concentrated minerals are shipped to factories in Canada and other parts of the world where they are used to manufacture products we use every day. While the Shield is well-suited to mining,it's ill-suited to farming because it has very thin soils. However, it's ideal for recreation because of it's scenic rivers, waters, lakes, rock outcrops, and vast forests. The action of the glaciers affected the drainage of the Shield. The scraping and gouging action of the ice created depressions in the bedrock. These depressions filled with water to form the hundreds of thousands of lakes that now dot the Shield. Because the bedrock is impervious, which dammed rivers or forced them to flow in different directions. The result is a very disorganized pattern of winding rivers, lakes, and swamps. These rivers and swamps are the breeding ground for the many blackflies and mosquitoes found in the Shield. People visit the Shield to canoe, fish, hunt, and "get back to nature." The tourist industry is very important to the towns and cities in the southern parts of the Shield. The Shield's plentiful water flows have made it an excellent surce of water-generated energy, and the pattern of drainage has affected where hydro-electrical plants are located. The centre of the Shield is much lower than it's outer portion. This gives it the appearance of a saucer, with Hudson Bay occupying the low-lying centre. As a result, most of the rivers of the Shield flow toward it's centre and into Hunson Bay. Hydroelectric generating stations have been built where the rivers tumble from the Shield onto the Hudson Bay Lowlands. The energy produced by these stations is transmitted by power lines to cities and towns both on and off the Shield.
PRECAMBRIAN CANADIAN SHIELD
The earth was formed about 4,600,000,000 years ago. The Precambrian era began at this time and lasted for about 4,000,000,000 years, approximately 87% of the earth's history. Many cycles of Mountain Building and erosion took place during this era. During the Precambrian Era, the only part of Canada that existed was the Canadian Shield. At times, the peakes of the Canadian Shield were as high as 12,000 metres above sea level. These enormous mountains were taller than any that exist today!!!!!! The uplifting was accomplished as enormous pressure caused the earth to buckle in a process called folding. Other processes such as volcanic action and faulting, in which the earth cracks open, also contributed to the formation of these mountain. Over millions of years, these mountains were gradually eroded only to be replaced by new mountains. Areas of land and ocean developed and then disappeared many times. The rest of Canada, as we know it, did not even form until hundreds of millions of years later. The Canadian Shield is the largest landform region in Canada and the other regions have formed around it. The Shield consists mainly of igneous and metamorphic rock and some sedimentary rock. Igneous rock is created when hot, melted magma rises from deep under the earth's crust, then cools and hardens. Igneous rock can either be changed directly into metamorphic rock or break down into particles or sediments that harden into sedimentary rock. When pressure and heat melt the sedimentary rock, the result is also metamorphic rock. There are fossils in the Shield dating back to the Precambrian era. These are the remains of material deposited by algae, the first single-celled organisms. By the end of this era, more complex organisms had developed.
[edit] ASSERT EXPERT && GEOLOGY-STUB TEMPLATE
- I just made this series of edits to 'unconfuse' the sense between the shield and a craton... which was the sense before I fiddled.
- These distinctions should be checked by a geology expert.
- If the 'CS' is part of Laurentia, then logic dictates that the 'shield' should not be confused with it's 'foundation', the craton.
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- From the context(s) it seems to be the shield is defined as that part of the craton that was glaciated, not the rock itself, the subject of the craton. Or so I surmise, as a poor humble engineer who's never taken a geology course.
Thanks, FrankB 19:20, 5 May 2006 (UTC)</nowiki>
[edit] Just a note
Just a note, the templates above have absolutely nothing to do with Canada or the Shield. The Person Who Is Strange 15:06, 20 June 2006 (UTC)
- The Canadian Shield extends into the United States. --tomf688 (talk - email) 15:09, 20 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Proposed Merger
I have proposed merging Ancient Mountains Of The Canadian Shield into this page because it appears to me attempting to be a page about, well, the Canadian Shield as a whole. It might be better if it were re-written to be about the mountains - but I know nothing about the subject so have no idea how plausible this is. I'd appreciate opinions from people more in the know! --JennyRad 17:06, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
- If it was up to me, I would just delete Ancient Mountains of the Canadian Shield - there is no useful specific content other than the idea of 12,000 m mountains (no idea how they were able to quantify that) and perhaps the fact that there are diamonds in the Precambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield, which is already mentioned. The rest is just generic stuff in my opinion. --Geologyguy 18:01, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
- Looks like someone's school essay to me. Nothing new there - a simple redirect seems the logical temporary solution. I'll do that now. Also note that this page could use some serious editing ... maybe someday :-) Vsmith 18:10, 6 July 2006 (UTC)
