The Eburnean orogeny, or Eburnean cycle, was a series of

tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

and plutonic events in what is now

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

during the

Paleoproterozoic The Paleoproterozoic Era (;, also spelled Palaeoproterozoic), spanning the time period from (2.5–1.6 Ga), is the first of the three sub-divisions ( eras) of the Proterozoic Eon. The Paleoproterozoic is also the longest era of the Earth's ...

era about 2200–2000 million years ago. During this period the

Birimian The Birimian rocks are major sources of gold and diamonds that extend through Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. They are named after the Birim River, one of the main tributaries of the Pra River in Ghana and the country's m ...

domain in West Africa was established and structured. Eburnian faults are found in the Eglab shield to the north of the

West African craton The West African Craton (WAC) is one of the five cratons of the Precambrian basement rock of Africa that make up the African Plate, the others being the Kalahari craton, Congo craton, Saharan Metacraton and Tanzania Craton.Jessell M.W., Liégeo ...

and in the Man Shield to the south of the craton. There is evidence of three major Eburnean magmatic events in the Eglab shield. Between 2210 and 2180 Ma, a metamorphosed batholith was formed in the Lower Reguibat Complex (LRC). Around 2090 Ma, a syntectonic trondhjemitic pluton intruded into the Archaean reelects of the Chegga series. Around 2070 Ma an asthenospheric upwelling released a large volume of post-orogenic magmas. Eburnian trends within the Eglab shield were repeatedly reactivated from the Neoproterozoic to the Mesozoic.

References

;Citations ;Sources * * Paleoproterozoic orogenies Orogenies of Africa {{tectonics-stub

See also

References