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45-671: The Laurentians Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth. The range formed around one billion years ago during the Grenville orogeny , in which the Grenville Province formed, a subdivision of the Canadian Shield . During that time, Laurentia , the geologic core of the Canadian Shield, collided with other continents and formed Precambrian rocks which extend across the range. The mountain range

90-677: A massive dome of Proterozoic rock on the New York-Canada border. Both the Elzevirian (c. 1250–1190 Ma) and Ottawan (c. 1080–1020 Ma) orogenic pulses are recorded in the Adirondacks, producing high-grade metamorphic rock. A northwest-trending high-strain shear zone separates the dome into the highlands to the southeast and the lowlands to the northwest. It is believed that the shear zone (the Carthage-Colton)

135-493: Is a prominent orogenic belt which spans a significant portion of the North American continent, from Labrador to Mexico , as well as to Scotland . Grenville orogenic crust of mid-late Mesoproterozoic age ( c. 1250—980 Ma ) is found worldwide, but generally only events which occurred on the southern and eastern margins of Laurentia are recognized under the "Grenville" name. These orogenic events are also known as

180-421: Is a subdivision of the Canadian Shield, and in this area, the oldest rocks of this geologic region are found. These rocks represent a chain of mountains that formed between 1,500 and 900 million years ago. During that time, Laurentia , the geologic core of the Canadian Shield, collided with other continents that were dragged by moving tectonic plates . The Laurentian Mountains contain dense boreal forests . It

225-532: Is composed of meta-igneous gneisses including anorthosite massifs. Anorthosites form in plutons and are composed mostly of plagioclase. The rocks of the Grenville Province in Canada are included in this category. The oldest magmatism known in this area dates to 1.32 Ga approximately. Granulite facies metamorphism began around 1.15 Ga and continued for about 150 Ma after the onset, however the continuity of

270-933: Is dynamic. The cyclic compression and extension history of this area is similar to the Wilson Cycle . In this area of the world the Wilson Cycle would be creating the basin for the Iapetus Ocean . Today, the Grenville orogen is marked by northwest verging fold-and-thrust belts and high pressure metamorphic regimes, as well as distinctive AMCG suite magmatism. Metamorphism is commonly of amphibolite and granulite facies , that is, medium to high temperature and pressure alteration. Eclogitized metagabbros (very high pressure ultramafic metamorphic rocks) are found in some localities and likely represent areas of deepest burial and/or most intense collision. Throughout

315-431: Is home to some deciduous trees, such as sugar maple , beech , but are rarely found past the northern boundary of the range. The Laurentian region is also rich in walnut , ash , cherry , linden , and oak . The range also contains bogs . The boreal ecosystem is represented by mixed forests , dominated by black spruce and balsam fir to the south, including areas of white birch . Laurentides Wildlife Reserve , which

360-803: Is known about the orogeny and its processes is derived from the Grenville Province. The Laurentian Mountains are a part of the province. Monteregian Hills The Monteregian Hills ( French : Collines Montérégiennes ) is a linear chain of isolated mountains in Montreal and Montérégie , between the Laurentians and the Appalachians . The first definition of the Monteregian Hills came about in 1903 when Montreal geologist Frank Dawson Adams began referring to Mount Royal ( Latin , Mons Regius ) and mountains of similar geology in

405-558: Is located around other related geographic features, such as the Monteregian Hills and the Adirondack Mountains . The Laurentian Mountains are home to vast extents of boreal ecosystems and mixed forests . The southern areas of the range are dominated by black spruce and balsam fir , with areas of white birch . The range is home to various wildlife species. The Laurentian Mountains are an important part of

450-577: Is located in the range, contains mammals such as black bears , bobcats , raccoons, grey wolves , otters , moose , white-tailed deer and caribou , with birds such as the barred owl , American kestrel , and osprey . The Laurentian Mountains are a popular recreational destination in Quebec. The first ski lift in North America was built in the mountain range in 1931, and by the late 1930s, "snow trains" had brought tens of thousands of skiers to

495-637: Is predominantly sedimentary and volcanic rocks which have undergone greenschist to granulite facies metamorphism. Subdivisions of this belt include the Bancroft, Elzevir, Sharbot Lake, and Frontenac Domains and the Adirondack Lowlands. In this belt magmatism is known to have occurred between 1.42 and 1.04 Ga depending on location. As with the Gneiss Belt, metamorphism is believed to have occurred at approximately 1.16 Ga. The Granulite Terrane

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540-605: Is suggested that the regime of subduction under the Laurentian margin (currently in Texas, north of the accreted Mexican terrane ) ended around 1230 Ma, and that subduction polarity reversed to bring the colliding continent north, since the Llano Uplift , which records the history of the Grenville in Texas, bears no evidence of arc magmatism after this time. The Appalachian Mountains contain small, isolated exposures of

585-414: Is the formation of sedimentary basins which means the margin was quiescent enough that sediments could accumulate. However, in some areas from 1.16 to 1.13 Ga, coeval with extension, there is evidence there was still thrusting and emplacement of terranes occurring. According to one model, westward thrusting occurred from 1.12 to 1.09 Ga and then extension was the primary tectonic activity until 1.05 Ga. It

630-855: The Attawapiskat , Kirkland Lake and Lake Timiskaming kimberlite fields) that become older away from the Monteregian Hills. The shallow, rocky sandy loam soils of the summits are mostly covered in forest . Where the underlying rock is rich in olivine , as over large areas of Mont Saint-Bruno and Mont Rougemont, these soils are classed as dystric brunisol . Podzol tends to develop over rock which lacks olivine, although many of these podzols lack an eluvial (Ae) horizon. Lower slopes are covered with aprons of gravel or sand. The sandy soils are usually podzols with classic Ae development; they often have subsoil hardpan and are undesirable for agriculture. The free-draining gravels are preferred for apple orchards, which grow in thermal belts where cold air can drain to

675-521: The East Coast to the Great Lakes . The forests reached heights of 30 to 85 meters high. While the exports of logging grew, it eventually became a wasteful practice, with the felling of trees leaving huge portions of land vulnerable to erosion . Intensive forestry has not entirely ceased in the region. Public and private forests in Quebec have now been entirely mapped, with information such as

720-533: The Great Meteor hotspot track , formed as a result of the North American Plate sliding westward over the long-lived New England hotspot , and are the eroded remnants of intrusive stocks . These intrusive stocks have been variously interpreted as the feeder intrusions of long extinct volcanoes , which would have been active about 125 million years ago, or as intrusives that never breached

765-662: The Kibaran orogeny in Africa and the Dalslandian orogeny in Western Europe . The problem of timing the Grenville orogeny is an area of some contention. The timescale outlined by Toby Rivers in 2002 is derived from the well-preserved Grenville Province and represents one of the most detailed records of the orogeny. This classification considers the classical Grenville designation to cover two separate orogenic cycles;

810-610: The Saint Lawrence Lowlands as the "Royal Mountains" ( French : montagnes royales ). Other mountains in the chain included Mont Saint-Bruno , Mont Saint-Hilaire , Mont Saint-Grégoire , Mont Rougemont , Mont Yamaska , Mont Shefford , and Mont Brome . It was only later that Mont Mégantic , the Oka Hills, as well as the Saint-André and d'Iberville formations, were added to the list. Each mountain in

855-469: The country rock . Polarities of subduction (which plate overrode which) vary by region and time. Some island arc remnants were emplaced on the Laurentian margin, and some were accreted during orogeny. Timing of these events is constrained by cross-cutting relations observed in the field as well as SHRIMP ( sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe ) and TIMS ( thermal ionization mass spectrometry ) uranium-lead dating . The first period of tectonic activity

900-547: The Grenville Province prior to opening of the Iapetus Ocean, the two share largely the same history. Texas and Mexico represent the southern margin of Laurentia and likely collided with a different continent than that involved in the eastern collision. The Zapotecan orogeny of Mexico is coeval with the later stages of the Grenville orogeny, and they are generally considered to be one and the same. Mesoproterozoic igneous protoliths (metamorphosed to granulite facies during

945-834: The Grenville orogen. The largest of these, the Long Range Inlier, comprises the Long Range Mountains of Newfoundland. Other exposures include the Shenandoah and French Broad massifs , which comprise the Blue Ridge province of Virginia. Blue Ridge rocks consist of various gneisses of upper amphibolite and granulite facies, intruded by charnockite and granitoid rocks. These igneous rocks were intruded in three intervals: c. 1160–1140  Ma, c. 1112 Ma, and c. 1080–1050 Ma, and are massive to weakly foliated in texture. This region consists of

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990-617: The Rigolet, Ottawan and Shawingian orogenies compose the Grenville Cycle, and the Elzevirian orogeny stands on its own. Due to the great size of the area affected by Grenville events, there is some variance in timing across the orogenic belt . Ages are approximated from the magmatic activity associated with the individual cycles of the orogeny. The gaps in the ages of the compression cycles and isotope analysis of hornblende , biotite , and potassium feldspar suggest that extension

1035-573: The Shawinigan occurs from 1190 to 1140 Ma and is no longer part of the Grenville cycle, the Ottawan (now 1090–1020 Ma) and Rigolet (still 1010–980 Ma) become phases which are grouped into the Grenvillian orogeny. Reconstruction of the events of the orogeny is ongoing, but the generally accepted view is that the eastern and southern margins of Laurentia were active convergent margins until

1080-544: The beginning of continental collision . This type of subduction (B-type) tends to emplace magmatic arcs on or near the edge of the overriding plate in modern subduction zones, and evidence of contemporary (c. 1300–1200 Ma) island arcs can be found throughout the Grenville orogen. The Andes of South America are considered a modern analogue. From about c. 1190–980 Ma (the actual timing varies by locality) two separate continental blocks collided with Laurentia. Both of these collision events are thought to be analogous to

1125-517: The bottom portion of the lithosphere is stripped off. Both models have been proposed for the Grenville orogeny. The Grenville orogeny can be categorized into three sections based on structure, lithology, and thermochronology. The three sections, respectively called the Gneiss Belt, Metasedimentary Belt, and the Granulite terrane are all separated by shear zones. The Gneiss Belt is made up of felsic gneisses and amphibolites that were metamorphosed in

1170-404: The chain consists of an erosional remnant of Cretaceous intrusive igneous rock and associated hornfels , which are more resistant to weathering than the surrounding sedimentary rock. All of the mountains have dark-coloured mafic rock such as gabbro and essexite ; some also have large areas of pulaskite , syenite , and other light-coloured rock. The Monteregian Hills are part of

1215-493: The collision driving modern-day growth of the Himalaya range. For some time one of the blocks was believed to be the continent of Amazonia, but paleomagnetic evidence has now proven that this is not the case. These periods of thrusting and metamorphism were not continuous but were interrupted by comparatively quiet periods, during which AMCG ( anorthosite / mangerite / charnockite / granite ) plutons were intruded into

1260-495: The continental crust was already taking place and thickening the lithosphere . By 1.19 Ga the Elzevir back arc basin was closing. From 1.18 to 1.14 Ga extension was occurring in the area. Whether from lithospheric cooling, also known as thermal subsidence, or the compressional activity in the area reactivated some extensional faults. The extension is marked by the isotopic ages of the previously mentioned rocks. Additionally there

1305-463: The economy of Quebec, as they have been historically been used for forestry and provide access to tourism and outdoor recreation for people in the region. The namesake of the mountains is derived from the term "Laurentide" or "Laurentian", which is itself derived from the St. Lawrence River . François-Xavier Garneau , author of Histoire de Canada , was first to use the term "Laurentien" when he coined

1350-562: The metamorphism cannot be determined. It is important to separate local from large-scale tectonic history of the orogenic belt in order to understand the orogeny. For this purpose, the Grenville orogen is generally broken into four localities: the southern extent in Texas and Mexico, the Appalachians , the Adirondacks , and the Grenville Province . A portion of the orogen can be found in Scotland, but because of Scotland's proximity to

1395-545: The mountain range. Jacques-Cartier National Park is located in this mountain range, which is north of Quebec City , residing in the Jacques-Cartier Massif . The Adirondack Mountains , which are located in northeastern New York , have great similarity to the Laurentian Mountains, consisting of the same type of rocks that are part of the Canadian Shield. The Laurentian Mountains are one of

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1440-670: The name of the mountains in 1845. Early geologists adopted the name for the complex of metamorphic and igneous rocks in this area, with the terms further being applied to the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the Laurentian Shield ( Canadian Shield ). Garneau applied the new term to the whole range north of the St. Lawrence River. While the region has been popularly referred to as the Laurentians and Les Laurentides , it

1485-469: The oldest mountain ranges in the world, being of Precambrian age, with some regions dating to over one billion years old. The mountain range is between other related geologic features, such as the Monteregian Hills and the older Oka Hills. The mountain range is located within the Grenville orogeny . The rocks of the Laurentian Mountains contain deformation and metamorphic structures that show long periods of tectonic activity occurred. The Grenville Province

1530-507: The orogen, these sequences of high pressure metamorphic rocks are cut by intrusive AMCG suite plutons, generally interpreted as syn- or post-tectonic. AMCG plutonism is generally associated with asthenospheric upwelling under thinned lithosphere . This is derived from the theory that AMCG plutonism is driven by ponding of olivine tholeiite basalt at the base of the continental crust during tectonic extension. The lithosphere may be thinned either convectively or by delamination , in which

1575-458: The orogeny) fall into two age groups in Mexico; c. 1235–1115 Ma and c. 1035–1010 Ma. Rocks of the former group bear geochemical signatures implying island arc and back-arc basin provenance. The latter group represents AMCG magmatism. These AMCG rocks are somewhat anomalous throughout the Grenville orogen, there is no known orogenic event which immediately predates their emplacement. It

1620-478: The range. In the area, there is skiing, snowboarding , dog sledding , ice climbing , and snowmobiling during winter at Mont-Tremblant, with rafting , kayaking , hiking, camping, and golf through the region during spring, summer, and fall. The Laurentian Mountains have been historically used for logging . During the European colonization of North America, colonists were met with a woodland that stretched from

1665-425: The soil, terrain, and waterways, and the species and the age of the trees available. With this data, the chief forester calculates the amount of wood that can be harvested, ensuring the forest is not cut down faster than it can grow back. Grenville orogeny The Grenville orogeny was a long-lived Mesoproterozoic mountain-building event associated with the assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia . Its record

1710-464: The surface in volcanic activity. The lack of an obvious track west of the Monteregian Hills may be due either to failure of the plume to penetrate the Canadian Shield , to the lack of recognizable intrusions, or to strengthening of the plume when it approached the Monteregian Hills region. However, there is evidence the hotspot track extends northwestwards, including epeirogenic uplift, mantle velocity anomalies and kimberlitic volcanic features (e.g.

1755-769: The upland are the Opeongo Hills , Misquah Hills , Huron Mountains , and the Porcupine Mountains . This region is extensively forested and contains nearly untouched wilderness, with it not being suited for agriculture. One of Quebec's official regions is called Laurentides . The mountain range runs through four other regions; Capitale-Nationale , Outaouais , Lanaudière , and Mauricie . The elevation generally ranges from around 500 m (1,640 ft) to 1,000 m (3,280 ft) with Mont Raoul-Blanchard being its highest peak, at 1,166 m (3,825 ft). Mont Tremblant , Mont Bleu, and Mont des Conscrits are other prominent peaks in

1800-538: The upper amphibolite to granulite facies. Thrusting in this section was low angle but would have the potential to increase and rotate as it continued and evolved. Shear in this area is referred to as ductile shear meaning the material was cooling and becoming solid, but still behaving viscously or plasticly. The age of this belt is approximately 1.8 to 1.18 Ga. Regional metamorphism is believed to have deformed this area at approximately 1.4 Ga and metamorphic thrusting at approximately 1.16 to 1.12 Ga. The Metasedimentary Belt

1845-417: Was a transpressional boundary during the Ottawan, when the highlands were thrust over the lowlands. The Grenville province is named for Grenville , Quebec, and constitutes the youngest portion of the Canadian Shield . Since the area has not undergone any regional metamorphic overprinting since the orogeny, it is considered an ideal study area for Grenville and pre-Grenville age tectonics. Hence, most of what

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1890-497: Was at this point that the Central Granulite Terrane was exhumed and minor magmatism occurred. The reason for change from compression to extension is unknown but may be the result of gravitational collapse, mantle delamination, the formation of a plume underneath a supercontinent , changes in far-field drivers on the distribution of stress, or any combination of reasons originating from the fact that our planet

1935-400: Was occurring when compression had momentarily ceased. Rivers' 2008 paper examines the timing of the different periods of the orogeny and reconstructs the timeline based on the spatial and temporal metamorphism of the rocks present. According to this newer version of the timeline which is a composite of Rivers 1997 and Gower and Krogh 2002, the Elzevirian orogeny occurs from 1240 to 1220 Ma,

1980-547: Was officially adopted in 1987 as the territory was defined. The Laurentian Mountains extend from Quebec to Labrador over a distance of 1,448 kilometers (900 miles ). They are partially bounded by the Ottawa , St. Lawrence , and Saguenay River . The Laurentian Mountains reside in the Laurentian Upland , which extends as far west as Lake Huron , with foothills extending into northeastern Ontario . Sub-ranges in

2025-471: Was the accretion of an island arc at some point during the Elzevirian Orogeny. Before the accretion of the island arc took place, subduction between a continental plate and presumably an oceanic plate was taking place. Slab pull and far-field drivers such as ridge push were aiding in closing the distance between the island arc and the continent. Depending on the angle of subduction, deformation of

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