Dike swarm

Dike swarm
Map of the Mackenzie dike swarm in Canada
Map of the Matachewan and Mistassini dike swarms in Canada

A dike swarm or dyke swarm is a large geological structure consisting of a major group of parallel, linear, or radially oriented dikes intruded within continental crust. They consist of several to hundreds of dikes emplaced more or less contemporaneously during a single intrusive event and are magmatic and stratigraphic. Such dike swarms may form a large igneous province and are the roots of a volcanic province.

The occurrence of mafic dike swarms in Archean and Paleoproterozoic terrains is often cited as evidence for mantle plume activity associated with abnormally high mantle potential temperatures.

Dike swarms may extend over 400 km (249 mi) in width and length. The largest dike swarm known on Earth is the Mackenzie dike swarm in the western half of the Canadian Shield in Canada, which is more than 500 km (311 mi) wide and 3,000 km (1,864 mi) long.[1]

The number of known giant dike swarms on Earth is small, only about 25. However, the primary geometry of most giant dike swarms is poorly known since plate tectonics are thought to destroy them.

Examples of dike swarms

North America
  • Mackenzie dike swarm (Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba and Ontario, Canada)
  • Independence dike swarm (eastern California, United States)
  • Kangaamiut dike swarm (western Greenland)
  • Warm Springs Mountain Dike Swarm (Nevada, United States)
  • Kennedy dike swarm (southeastern Wyoming, United States)
  • Madalena Radial Dike Swarm (southeastern Wyoming)
  • Matachewan dike swarm (eastern Ontario, Canada)
  • Mistassini dike swarm (western Quebec, Canada)
  • Franklin dike swarm (northern Canada)
  • Grenville dike swarm (Ontario and Quebec, Canada)
  • Marathon dike swarm (northwestern Ontario, Canada)
  • San Rafael Swell dike swarm (Utah, United States)
Asia
  • Shirotori-Hiketa Dike Swarm (northeastern Shikoku, Japan)
  • North China dike swarm (North China craton, China)
Australia
  • Wood's Point dyke swarm (Victoria, Australia)
Africa
  • Cape Peninsula dyke swarm, South Africa
Europe
  • Orano Dike Swarm (Elba Island, Italy)
  • Egersund dike swarm (southwestern Norway)
  • Kildonan Dyke Swarm (Isle of Arran, Scotland)

See also

  • Sheet intrusion
  • Sill swarm

References

  1. ^ Mackenzie dike swarm (geological feature, Canada) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia.

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  • Matachewan dike swarm — Map of the Matachewan and Mistassini dike swarms of Eastern Canada The Matachewan dike swarm is a large 2,500 to 2,450 million year old Paleoproterozoic dike swarm of Northern Ontario, Canada. It consists of basaltic dikes that were intruded in …   Wikipedia

  • Mistassini dike swarm — Map of the Matachewan and Mistassini dike swarms of Eastern Canada The Mistassini dike swarm is a 2.5 billion year old Paleoproterozoic dike swarm of western Quebec, Canada. It consists of mafic dikes that were intruded in the Superior …   Wikipedia

  • Mackenzie dike swarm — The Mackenzie dike swarm, also called the Mackenzie dikes, form a large igneous province in the western Canadian Shield of Canada. It is one of more than three dozen dike swarms in various parts of the Canadian Shield and is the largest dike… …   Wikipedia

  • Kangamiut dike swarm — The Kangamiut dike swarm is a 2.04 billion year old dike swarm located in the Søndre Strømfjord region of western Greenland [ [http://www.geus.dk/publications/bull/nr11/nr11 p061 086.pdf Mayborn, K.R. Lesher, C.E. 2006: Origin and evolution of… …   Wikipedia

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  • Klastischer Dike — Basische Gesteinsgänge in Alaska Dykes (englisch) oder Dikes (amerikanisch) sind plattenartige, meist weit reichende Gesteinskörper aus magmatischem Gestein, die größere Spalten ausfüllen und das umgebende Gestein schneiden oder durchkreuzen. Der …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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