Mackenzie dike swarm

geological feature, Canada

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June 30, 2026

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A dike swarm is a large group of parallel dikes, which are tabular or sheetlike igneous rock bodies. These dikes are often oriented vertically or steeply inclined to the surrounding rock layers. The Mackenzie dike swarm, located in Canada, is a significant geological feature. It is over 500 km wide and 3,000 km long, extending across Canada from the Arctic to the Great Lakes. These swarms are formed by the intrusion of basic dikes into extensional fractures within continents that are stable and rigid. Dikes can vary greatly in size, but they commonly range from 0.3 to 6 meters in width and can be hundreds of miles long.12

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Precambrian
Basic dikes
2-billion-year-old Mackenzie swarm is more than 500 km (311 miles) wide and 3,000 km (1,864 miles) long and extends in a northwesterly direction across the whole of Canada from the Arctic to the Great Lakes. The 1.95-billion-year-old Kangamiut swarm in western Greenland is only about 250…
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2-billion-year-old Mackenzie swarm is more than 500 km (311 miles) wide and 3,000 km (1,864 miles) long and extends in a northwesterly direction across the whole of Canada from the Arctic to the Great Lakes. The 1.95-billion-year-old Kangamiut swarm in western Greenland is only about 250…
Read More