Mount Isa Paleoproterozoic Basin Architecture and Crustal Evolution Field Guide

A field guide documents the 200-million-year geological evolution of the Mount Isa region in northern Australia, focusing on its Paleoproterozoic to earliest Mesoproterozoic sequences. The Australian Ocean Data Network published this guide, which was last updated in April 2026. It details the stratigraphic record from 1800 to 1600 million years ago, covering three major sedimentary superbasins.

Use Cases

• Analyze the temporal sequence of the Leichhardt, Calvert, and Isa superbasins using their defined age ranges (1800-1750 Ma, 1730-1670 Ma, 1670-1575 Ma).
• Correlate basin evolution features like fluviatile-lacustrine to marine transitions with crustal thinning and bimodal magmatism events described in the guide.
• Study the tectonic shift recorded from continental to oceanic tholeiite basaltic magmas around 1685 Ma as an indicator of crustal attenuation.
• Investigate the episode of basin inversion and minor deformation documented at approximately 1640 Ma within the regional sedimentary record.

Strengths

• Covers a 200-million-year geological record from 1800 to 1600 Ma.
• Documents three distinct stacked sedimentary basins with defined age boundaries.
• Integrates field observations from mine visits and outcrop geology.

Limitations

• Data is presented in a descriptive field guide format (PDF/HTML), not a structured, machine-readable dataset.
• The sample size or quantitative data point count is unspecified.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the Mount Isa region in northern Australia.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Field observations from mine visits and outcrop geology, compiled into a guide.

Time Range

1800 to 1600 million years ago (Paleoproterozoic to earliest Mesoproterozoic).

Freshness

Last updated in April 2026.

Geography

Mount Isa region, northern Australia.