|
Georgina Basin
The Georgina Basin is a large (c. 330,000 km2) intracratonic sedimentary basin in central and northern Australia, lying mostly within the Northern Territory and partly within Queensland.Smith, KG (1972). "Stratigraphy of the Georgina Basin." Bureau of Mineral Resources, Australia, Bulletin 111. It is named after the Georgina River which drains part of the basin. Deposition of locally up to c. 4 km of marine and non-marine sedimentary rocks took place from the Neoproterozoic to the late Paleozoic (c. 850-350 Ma). Along with other nearby sedimentary basins of similar age (Amadeus Basin, Officer Basin), the Georgina Basin is believed to have once been part of the hypothetical Centralian Superbasin, that was fragmented during episodes of tectonic activity. See also *Ngalia Basin *Alice Springs Orogeny The Alice Springs Orogeny was a major intraplate tectonic (mountain building) episode in central Australia responsible for the formation of a series of large mountain ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Craton
A craton (, , or ; from grc-gre, κράτος "strength") is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere, which consists of Earth's two topmost layers, the crust and the uppermost mantle. Having often survived cycles of merging and rifting of continents, cratons are generally found in the interiors of tectonic plates; the exceptions occur where geologically recent rifting events have separated cratons and created passive margins along their edges. Cratons are characteristically composed of ancient crystalline basement rock, which may be covered by younger sedimentary rock. They have a thick crust and deep lithospheric roots that extend as much as several hundred kilometres into Earth's mantle. Terminology The term ''craton'' is used to distinguish the stable portion of the continental crust from regions that are more geologically active and unstable. Cratons are composed of two layers: A continental ''shield'', in which the basement rock crops out at the surface ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centralian Superbasin
The Centralian Superbasin is a large intracratonic sedimentary basin which occupied a large area of central, southern and western Australia during much of the Neoproterozoic Era (~830–540 Ma). This superbasin was disrupted by two periods of uplift and mountain building, the latest Neoproterozoic Petermann Orogeny and Palaeozoic Alice Springs Orogeny, to leave remnants including the Amadeus, Georgina, Ngalia, and Officer basins.Grey K, Hocking RM, Stevens MK, Bagas L, Carlsen GM, Irimies F, Pirajno F, Haines PW, Apak SN (2005) "Lithostratigraphic nomenclature of the Officer Basin and correlative parts of the Paterson Orogen, Western Australia" ''Western Australia Geological Survey'', Report 93, 89p. See also *Natural history of Australia References Basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North West Queensland
The Gulf Country is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called the Gulf Savannah. It contains large reserves of zinc, lead and silver. The Gulf Country is crossed by the Savannah Way highway. Location and description The Gulf Country is a block of dry savanna between the wetter areas of Arnhem Land and the Top End of the Northern territory to the west and the Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland to the east, while to the south and east lie upland plains of Mitchell grasses and the Einasleigh Uplands. The Northern Territory side of the area is the Gulf Fall area of sandstone slopes and gorges draining the interior uplands into the gulf. The main land uses in the Gulf Country are beef cattle and mining. The region covers an area of . The landscape is generally flat and low-lying tropical savannah cut through with ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleozoic Geology
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ''zōḗ'' (), "life", meaning "ancient life" ). It is the longest of the Phanerozoic eras, lasting from , and is subdivided into six geologic periods (from oldest to youngest): # Cambrian # Ordovician # Silurian # Devonian # Carboniferous # Permian The Paleozoic comes after the Neoproterozoic Era of the Proterozoic Eon and is followed by the Mesozoic Era. The Paleozoic was a time of dramatic geological, climatic, and evolutionary change. The Cambrian witnessed the most rapid and widespread diversification of life in Earth's history, known as the Cambrian explosion, in which most modern phyla first appeared. Arthropods, molluscs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and synapsids all evolved during the Paleozoic. Life began in the ocean but event ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proterozoic Geology
The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided into three geologic eras (from oldest to youngest): the Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, and Neoproterozoic. The Proterozoic covers the time from the appearance of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere to just before the proliferation of complex life (such as trilobites or corals) on the Earth. The name ''Proterozoic'' combines two forms of ultimately Greek origin: meaning 'former, earlier', and , 'of life'. The well-identified events of this eon were the transition to an oxygenated atmosphere during the Paleoproterozoic; the evolution of eukaryotes; several glaciations, which produced the hypothesized Snowball Earth during the Cryogenian Period in the late Neoproterozoic Era; and the Ediacaran Period (635 to 538.8 Ma) which is characterized b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geology Of Queensland
The geology of Queensland can be subdivided into several regions with different histories. Along the east coast is a complex of Palaezoic to Cainozoic rocks while much of the rest of the state is covered by Cretaceous and Cainozoic rocks. A Precambrian basement is found in the north west and Cape York regions. The Thomson Orogen occurs in the central and southern parts of Queensland, but is mostly covered by younger basins. The North Queensland Orogen is along the coast from Charters Towers to Princess Charlotte Bay. The Bowen Gunndedah Sydney basin can be considered as one system that extends into Queensland. The New England Orogen is on the coastal parts from the border with New South Wales north to Ayr. Devonian The Drummond Basin is a geological basin in central and northern Queensland which consists of Late Devonian to early Carboniferous shallow-marine and continental sediments. Precambrian The Precambrian basement in Queensland is west of the Tasman Line. It includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geology Of The Northern Territory
The geology of Australia includes virtually all known rock types, spanning a geological time period of over 3.8 billion years, including some of the oldest rocks on earth. Australia is a continent situated on the Indo-Australian Plate. Components Australia's geology can be divided into several main sections: the Archaean cratonic shields, Proterozoic fold belts and sedimentary basins, Phanerozoic sedimentary basins, and Phanerozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks. Australia as a separate continent began to form after the breakup of Gondwana in the Permian, with the separation of the continental landmass from the African continent and Indian subcontinent. Australia rifted from Antarctica in the Cretaceous. The current Australian continental mass is composed of a thick subcontinental lithosphere, over thick in the western two-thirds and thick in the younger eastern third. The Australian continental crust, excluding the thinned margins, has an average thickness of , with a ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedimentary Basins Of Australia
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place. The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus (minerals) or biological detritus (organic matter). The geological detritus originated from weathering and erosion of existing rocks, or from the solidification of molten lava blobs erupted by volcanoes. The geological detritus is transported to the place of deposition by water, wind, ice or mass movement, which are called agents of denudation. Biological detritus was formed by bodies and parts (mainly shells) of dead aquatic organisms, as well as their fecal mass, suspended in water and slowly piling up on the floor of water bodies (marine snow). Sedimentation may also occur as dissolved minerals precipitate from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alice Springs Orogeny
The Alice Springs Orogeny was a major intraplate tectonic (mountain building) episode in central Australia responsible for the formation of a series of large mountain ranges. The deformation associated with the Alice Spring Orogeny caused the vertically-tilted sandstone layers of the iconic Uluru/Ayers Rock. Duration The Alice Springs Orogeny was a long lived event, beginning approximately 450 million years ago and concluding about 300 million years ago,Bradshaw JD, Evans PR (1988). "Palaeozoic tectonics, Amadeus Basin, central Australia". The APEA Journal 28: 267–282 and it involved less than 100 km of distributed shortening. Extent The Alice Springs orogeny was centred in an area that had previously been a marine sedimentary basin, and involved the thrusting up of the underlying metamorphic and igneous rocks of Proterozoic age. The Alice Springs Orogeny had its beginnings in the Late Ordovician, continuing during the Silurian and Devonian, and by the Carboniferous t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngalia Basin
The Ngalia Basin is a small (ca. 15,000 km²) intracratonic sedimentary basin in central Australia, lying within the southern Northern Territory. Wells AT, Moss, FJ (1983). "The Ngalia Basin, Northern Territory: stratigraphy and structure". Bureau of Mineral Resources, Australia, Bulletin 212. Deposition of locally up to about six km of marine and non-marine sedimentary rocks took place from the Neoproterozoic to the late Paleozoic (ca. 850-340 Ma). Along with other nearby sedimentary basins of similar age (Amadeus Basin, Georgina Basin, Officer Basin), the Ngalia Basin is believed to have once been part of the hypothetical Centralian Superbasin, that was fragmented during episodes of tectonic activity. See also *Alice Springs Orogeny The Alice Springs Orogeny was a major intraplate tectonic (mountain building) episode in central Australia responsible for the formation of a series of large mountain ranges. The deformation associated with the Alice Spring Orogeny caused the vert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Officer Basin
The Officer Basin is an intracratonic sedimentary basin that covers roughly 320,000 km2 along the border between southern and western Australia. Exploration for hydrocarbons in this basin has been sparse, but the geology has been examined for its potential as a hydrocarbon reservoir. This basin's extensive depositional history, with sedimentary thicknesses exceeding 6 km and spanning roughly 350 Ma during the Neoproterozoic, make it an ideal candidate for hydrocarbon production. Along with other nearby sedimentary basins of similar age (Amadeus Basin, Georgina Basin), the Officer Basin is believed to have once been part of the hypothetical Centralian Superbasin which was fragmented during several episodes of tectonic activity. Geologic history Australia is characterized by ancient cratons that detail the complex tectonic and geologic history that has occurred over the course of Earth's evolution. The most notable geologic events that resulted in regional rifting of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedimentary Basin
Sedimentary basins are region-scale depressions of the Earth's crust where subsidence has occurred and a thick sequence of sediments have accumulated to form a large three-dimensional body of sedimentary rock. They form when long-term subsidence creates a regional depression that provides Accommodation (geology), accommodation space for accumulation of sediments. Over millions or tens or hundreds of millions of years the deposition of sediment, primarily gravity-driven transportation of water-borne eroded material, acts to fill the depression. As the sediments are buried, they are subject to increasing pressure and begin the processes of compaction (geology), compaction and lithification that transform them into sedimentary rock. Sedimentary basins are created by deformation of Earth's lithosphere in diverse geological settings, usually as a result of plate tectonics, plate tectonic activity. Mechanisms of crustal deformation that lead to subsidence and sedimentary basin formati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
