Mount Isa Basin Geology: 200 Myr Record of Rifting and Crustal Evolution

A 200-million-year record (1800-1600 Ma) of intracontinental rifting in the Mount Isa region of northern Australia, preserved in Paleoproterozoic to earliest Mesoproterozoic sequences. The data, provided by the Australian Ocean Data Network, documents the evolution of three stacked sedimentary basins and associated magmatic and metamorphic events. This field guide describes a geological record amenable to investigation through mine visits and outcrop geology.

Use Cases

• Modeling basin evolution based on the described 200 Myr record of rifting and sedimentation.
• Analyzing crustal architecture based on the description of North American Basin and Range-style structures.
• Studying magmatic evolution based on the transition from continental to oceanic tholeiites mentioned in the description.
• Correlating sedimentary sequences across the described Leichhardt, Calvert, and Isa superbasins.

Strengths

• Covers a specific 200-million-year geological time span (1800-1600 Ma).
• Describes three distinct stacked sedimentary basins with defined time ranges.
• Focuses on a well-defined geographic region: the Mount Isa region of northern Australia.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic/temporal bias inherent to data_gov_au.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Likely compiled from field observations, mine visits, and outcrop geology as described.

Time Range

1800-1600 Ma (Paleoproterozoic to earliest Mesoproterozoic)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 16:03:23.286695; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Mount Isa region, northern Australia