Grenville orogeny Grenville orogeny The Grenville orogeny was a long-lived Mesoproterozoic mountain-building event associated with the assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia. Its record 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 the Kibaran orogeny in Africa and the Dalslandian orogeny in Western Europe. The problem of
Grenville orogeny the Highlands to the southeast and the Lowlands to the northwest. It is believed that the shear zone (the Carthage-Colton) was a transpressional boundary during the Ottawan, when the Highlands were thrust over the Lowlands. The Grenville province is named for the village of Grenville in 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 is known about the orogeny and its processes is derived from the Grenville Province.