Laurentia - Interior Platform

Interior Platform

In eastern and central Canada, much of the stable craton is exposed at the surface as the Canadian Shield; when sub-surface extensions are considered, the wider term Laurentian Shield is more common, not least because large parts of the structure extend outside Canada. In the United States, the craton bedrock is covered with sedimentary rocks of the interior platform except in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Adirondacks of New York and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The sequence of rocks varies from approximately 1,000 to in excess of 6,100 metres (3,500–20,000 ft) in thickness. The cratonic rocks are metamorphic and igneous, while the overlying sedimentary rocks are composed mostly of limestones, sandstones, and shales. These sedimentary rocks were deposited from 650 to 290 million years ago.

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Famous quotes containing the words interior and/or platform:

    When the delicious beauty of lineaments loses its power, it is because a more delicious beauty has appeared; that an interior and durable form has been disclosed.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    Across Parker Avenue from the fort is the Site of the Old Gallows, where 83 men “stood on nothin’, a-lookin’ up a rope.” The platform had a trap wide enought to “accommodate” 12 men, but half that number was the highest ever reached. On two occasions six miscreants were executed. There were several groups of five, some quartets and trios.
    —Administration in the State of Arka, U.S. public relief program. Arkansas: A Guide to the State (The WPA Guide to Arkansas)