THE EODY OF THE EAR1H| INTERNAL PROCESSES

figure 20-43 , s t S c h e m a t i c c c t i o na c r o s s h e U n i l e d S t a t e s d e p i . t i n gm a j o r s l r L ' . l u r a lr c g i o n s! n d ! a . i a l i o n s i n c r u s t a lt h i c k n e s s .

Figure 20-44 Idealized section in the Canadian Shicld The hjghli, ' a!'e'io' IrFr"norph'.'d o d orn"o t e i n d i c a t eL h a ta n i e n s eo r o g n j c p i s o d e o o k p l a c e i. Precambrian tims, belore stable conditions sel in

StablInterior The extensive, flai siableintrio.so{ continents. which have ben relatively undisturbed since Pr" "mb an ,m ' ' cp torgp " r " oi p. ,' called cratons.The atonstypicall\.,includ large arcasof cxposcd.vry old crystallinbasemDt rocks calied shields, surrounded by sedimentcoveredplatforns.The Canadian Shi-"ld domi is hated by granitic and high'grade metamorphic rocks, such as gnisscs, which, together rvilh highly deformed aDd ntamorphosed sedrm{,nts and r.olcanic rocks, imp1,1, serics ol intcns a in mountain-making episodes Pfccambriantime

h p o r " n " . r d l r ' ' o d i I o , . s F . n ( F . s .- 0 I l ) . The shieldalsoincludessomevery o1dsediments that were hardly touched by delormation and m F r o m uh . m T ' r - p r ' - j i \ F b l J c k r n , r n . u f r ol h"ul ..- dn-ro'r compl\ " ,'l.ofgF...ical hisio\r, much of il still unkno$,n in detail. lt js famousfor major deposits iron,golcl, of copper, and nickel Othr shields are fo nd in lennoscandia, Sibcria,centralAfrica, Brazil, and Aus tralia. South of the CanadianShield (seFigs.20 ,11, i! 20 42. regions 12 and 13, 20-,13) thc ccntral coveredplaiform.This stablrgion,a sediment plrlform is in a snsc subsurface continuation of a basement thc shield,for il conlairs Pfcambrian sedments rockscoveredby a venerof Paleozoic Lvpically less than about 2 kilometers thick. \ r p g ' o L r o o d, ^ J i m p " o r r ' b d . ; n ' r r " \\ rthi defincd by roughlv oval arcas lvhre the sedi mnis are some$,hatthicker than the surrounding platforms(Fi8.20-36).ln parts of thc Michigan mav be up to 2.5or and lllinois basjns scdiments thick. Some believc thesbasinsto 3 kilomcLers b the result of rifting of thc Prcambrian suriace without spreading, \ ,ith latercoolingand sub but laid do n under quiei sidcncc.Th sedimenls, conditjons, hale remarlled unnctanorphosed and only slightly deformedto this dat. Thcre is o c r r I r a l d p l u r c" aoJnJan e,i---' F ol tion, including shallow basins,dome, antrclnes, genThe deformation mostlv 1l1 is and synclines. tl tilts. folds, aDd faults \\'ith small displace-