Geological History of the Cairns-Townsville Hinterland, North Queensland, 1956-1959

35,000 square miles of the Cairns-Townsville Hinterland were mapped from 1956 to 1959, revealing a complex geological history. The Australian Ocean Data Network hosts this record, which details a Precambrian shield and a Palaeozoic geosyncline containing up to 40,000 feet of sediments. The description outlines major events including regional metamorphism, sediment deposition, and igneous intrusions spanning from the Archaean to the late Carboniferous.

Use Cases

• Modeling regional tectonic evolution based on described shield and geosyncline structures.
• Analyzing sediment deposition patterns from described thicknesses of pelagic, terrigenous, and organic sediments.
• Studying igneous rock distribution and history based on the mapped acid, basic, and ultrabasic intrusions.

Strengths

• Covers a large, defined area of 35,000 square miles.
• Provides specific quantitative measurements, such as sediment thicknesses of 40,000 feet and 30,000 feet in different zones.
• Describes a long temporal sequence from the Precambrian to the late Carboniferous.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data freshness should be verified; the record was last updated 2026-06-05 07:33:24.858008.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Regional geological mapping conducted from 1956 to 1959.

Time Range

Precambrian (Archaean?) to late Carboniferous; mapping conducted 1956-1959.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-05 07:33:24.858008; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Cairns-Townsville Hinterland, North Queensland, Australia (35,000 square miles).