Geology of Ontario
[1] The Canadian Shield spans much of northern Ontario and is subdivided into three main geological provinces; The Superior, Southern and Grenville.[8] The Grenville Province makes up about 20 percent of the exposed Canadian Shield in Ontario and located south of Sudbury is 1.0 to 1.6 billion years old and is dominated by sedimentary rocks and later metamorphized.[9] The Parautochthon is a band running parallel to the Grenville Front, which varies in width from Labrador to northeastern Georgian Bay on Lake Huron.[11] NASA used the site to geologically train the Apollo Astronauts in recognizing rocks formed as the result of a very large impact, such as breccias.[13] The dike swarms in Ontario are, Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian rocks and fossils can be found in the basins in the south and north of the province.[16] By the fall of 2011, the Ring of Fire was considered "one of the largest potential mineral reserves in Ontario" with "more than 35 junior and intermediate mining and exploration companies covering an area of about "1.5 million hectares".[14] All were dug by a continental ice sheet that drove through the area, deepening some river channels to form lakes, and damming others with debris.Submerged in the river in the lower valley, hidden from view, is the Queenston Formation (Upper Ordovician), which is composed of shales and fine sandstones.About 10,900 years ago, the Niagara Falls was between present-day Queenston, Ontario, and Lewiston, New York, but erosion of their crest has caused the waterfalls to retreat approximately 6.8 miles (10.9 km) southward.According to the timeline of the far future, in roughly 50,000 years Niagara Falls will have eroded the remaining 32 kilometres (20 mi) to Lake Erie and ceased to exist.[22] The extraction of metallic minerals is concentrated in Northern Ontario, while the southern portion of the province produces salt, gypsum, lime, nepheline syenite and structural materials (sand, gravel, stone), along with some petroleum.[23] Derisory fees are charged by the government for prospecting licences ($25.50)[24] and exploration permits (nil),[25] in keeping with the duty of economic development of the province.The exploration permit process is meant as a means to notify interested parties, such as surface landowners, of the activities of miners.
OntarioPrecambrianCanadian ShieldSudburySuperior provinceSouthern provinceSault Ste. MarieKirkland LakeGrenville ProvincePhanerozoicArcheancratonLake SuperiorQuebecHudson BayNorthern OntarioLake HuronNorthwestern OntarioManitobaSouth DakotaMinnesotaAbitibi greenstone beltgreenstone beltsSuperior cratonSilurian PeriodOrdovicianDevonianMichiganMidcontinent Rift Systemhotspottriple junctionAllochthonPaleoproterozoicMesoproterozoicmarblequartzitepeliteamphibolitecharnockiteanorthositeorthogneissmigmatitegabbroGrenville FrontGeorgian Baygreenschistgranulitemetamorphic faciesGrenville orogenySudbury BasinimpactNuna supercontinentbolideVredefort impact structureSouth AfricaChicxulub craterYucatánMexicoSudbury Igneous ComplexApollo AstronautsbrecciasApollo 15David ScottJames IrwinApollo 16John YoungCharlie DukeApollo 17Gene CernanJack SchmittWilliam R. Muehlbergerdike swarmsintrudedcontinental crustmantle plumeMackenzie dike swarmGrenville dike swarmMatachewan dike swarmMistassini dike swarmSudbury dike swarmHudson Bay LowlandswetlandJames BayRing of FirechromiteWindsorQuebec Citylast glacial maximumWisconsin glaciationGreat Lakesice sheetNiagara EscarpmentcuestalimestonedolomiteLockport FormationfossilsQueenston FormationsandstonesQueenston, OntarioLewiston, New YorkerosionGoat IslandLake ErienickelcopperplatinumWinona State UniversityBibcodeNiagara ParksGeology of Canadaprovince or territoryAlbertaBritish ColumbiaNew BrunswickNewfoundland and LabradorNova ScotiaPrince Edward IslandSaskatchewanNorthwest TerritoriesNunavut