Davis Strait Proto-Microcontinent

Davis Strait Proto-Microcontinent Latest News

A hidden landmass called the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent has been found beneath the icy waters of the Davis Strait, the body of water that separates Canada’s Baffin Island from Greenland.

About Davis Strait Proto-Microcontinent

• It is a newly discovered submerged microcontinent located around the Davis Strait, a large stretch of water located between Canada’s Baffin Island and Greenland.
• It has been named the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent since it formed owing to the tectonic evolution of the Davis Strait.
  • The strait was formed millions of years ago when the tectonic plates between the two islands shifted, reconfiguring the Earth’s crust.
  • This resulted in the formation of a thick continental crust in the ocean, which has now been declared a newly discovered primitive microcontinent.
• The microcontinent is 19–24 km thick thinned continental crust and is surrounded by two narrow bands of thin (15–17 km) continental crust. 
• This crust separates it from mainland Greenland and Baffin Island.

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Key Facts about Davis Strait

• It is a bay of the northern Atlantic Ocean, lying between southeastern Baffin Island (Canada) and southwestern Greenland.
• The strait separates the depths of Baffin Bay (north) from those of the Labrador Sea (south) and forms part of the Northwest Passage, a route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago linking the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. 
• It is approximately 400 miles (650 km) north to south and 200 to 400 miles wide. 
• It is one of the broadest straits in the world.
• The Davis Strait is home to complex geological formations such as underwater basins and ridges that were created due to the strike-slip faulting along the Ungava Fault Zone around 45 to 62 million years ago. 
• It triggered plate tectonic movements in the Labrador Sea and the Baffin Bay, leading to the formation of the Strait.

Source: N18