Get GIS Data

Figure 5.1

Precambrian basement structure, showing major observed faults on the exposed Shield and inferred faults in the buried Shield.

Figure 5.2

Lithology of Precambrian core samples from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

Figure 5.3

Structure of the strongest R-mode factor, K-metasomatism (after Burwash and Culbert, 1976). R-mode factor analysis of 42 variables measured on core samples of Precambrian basement gives correlation factors coefficients (maximum value 1.0) between related variables. These can be matched with petrographic observations and linked to metamorphic processes.

Figure 5.4

Trend surface map for the K-metasomatism factor of Figure 5.3. The smoothed surface is generated using average or interpolated values for each grid square. The level of confidence is highest in areas with close well spacing (from Burwash and Culbert, 1976).

Figure 5.5

Graphic representation of the variables that form the first canonical trend surface. Increase in K-feldspar is linked to reduction in specific gravity. The database is the same as that for Figure 5.3 (from Burwash and Culbert, 1976).

Figure 5.6

Canonical trend surface mapped by 4th order polynomial fitting of the factor shown in Figure 5.5. Coefficient of correlation for this surface is 0.848. The Peace River Arch of northern Alberta is characterized by high K-feldspar and low specific gravity core samples (after Burwash and Culbert, 1976).

Figure 5.7

K-Ar isotopic ages for basement samples from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

Figure 5.8

U-Pb isotopic ages for basement samples from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

Figure 5.9

Sm-Nd isotopic ages for basement samples from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

Figure 5.10

Histograms of K-Ar, U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotopic ages of basement samples from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

Figure 5.11

Cross section of Steen River Impact Structure, northern Alberta.

Get GIS Data

Get GIS Data

Figure 5.12

Relation of lithostructural units of the exposed shield to inferred divisions of the crystalline basement beneath the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Cratons: Slave, Kaminak, Superior, Wyoming; Lower Proterozoic igneous complexes: Wopmay (WMO), Thelon Tectonic Zone (TTZ), Taltson Magmatic Zone (TMZ), Wathaman Batholith, Rimbey Magmatic Zone (RMZ); Lower Proterozoic volcanic centres: Swift Current (SC), Willingdon (W). Most lineaments are named on Figure 5.1, except Great Falls (GFL), Great Lakes (GLL), and North America Central Plains Anomaly (NACP). Sources of data: Burwash et al. (in press), Lewry and Collerson (1990), and Ross et al. (1991).