ranes.

The shear zones that separate the various terranes con-

tain kinematic indicators that suggest northwest-directed tec-

tonic transport, and tectonic transport is thought to have

occurred between 1.18 billion and 1.03 billion years ago.

The Nipissing terrane is located in the western portion of

the central gneiss belt. Part of the Nipissing terrane occupies

a region known as the Grenville front tectonic zone (GFTZ),

an area that lies within 30 kilometers of the Grenville front.

The lithologies here are strongly deformed with northeast-

striking foliations and zones of cataclasis and moderately

plunging southeast lineations. The heterogeneous gneisses of

the Nipissing terrane fall into two categories: Archean and

Lower Proterozoic migmatitic gneisses that are likely

reworked units of the Southern and Superior provinces and

Middle Proterozoic metasedimentary gneiss. These rocks

were intruded by 1.7 billion- and 1.45-billion-year-old

granitic plutonic rocks, both of which are less deformed than

the host rocks. Postdating this intrusive event, the region

underwent high-grade metamorphism, experiencing tempera-

tures of 1,200°F–1,280°F (650°C–750°C) and pressures of

8.0–8.5 kilobars.

The Tomiko terrane is located in the extreme northwest-

ern portion of the central gneiss belt. The most striking

aspect of the Tomiko terrane is the relative abundance of

metasedimentary rocks, but it also contains metamorphosed

granitic rocks that are Middle Proterozoic in age. The

Tomiko terrane is allochthonous with respect to the Nipissing

terrane. Evidence to support this is the distinct detrital zircon

population in the Tomiko metaquartzites, dated at 1,687 mil-

lion years old. This is in sharp contrast to the metaquartzites

of the Nipissing terrane, where the detrital zircons are

Archean to Lower Proterozoic in age. This suggests that the

Nipissing terrane was already adjacent to the Superior

province at the time of the Nipissing quartzite formation.

Further evidence for the allochthonous nature of the Tomiko

terrane is the presence of iron formations in the Tomiko ter-

rane, which are not present elsewhere in the CGB. The meta-

morphic conditions experienced by the Tomiko terrane are

temperatures of less than 1,290°F (700°C) and pressures of

6.0–8.0 kilobars.

The Algonquin terrane is the largest terrane in the CGB

and consists of numerous domains. The rocks in this terrane

are meta-igneous quartzo-feldspathic gneisses and supracrustal

gneisses. Generally, the foliations strike northeast and dip to

the southeast; down-dip stretching lineations are common.

The southern domains have been interpreted as thrust sheets

with a clear polarity of southeasterly dips and the entire

Algonquin terrane may be parautochthonous. The metamor-

phic temperatures and pressures range from 1,240°F–1,520°F

(670°C–825°C) and 7.9–9.9 kilobars, respectively.

The Parry Sound terrane is the most studied terrane in the

CGB. It is located in the south-central portion of the CGB and

contains large volumes of mafic rock, marble, and anorthosite.