Carolina terrane

The terrane likely formed as a subduction-related volcanic island arc[2][3] off the coast of South America (then Gondwana) during the Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian (625–550 MYA).

[4] Plate tectonics moved it across the Iapetus Ocean until it docked with Laurentia (now the east coast of North America).

The terrane comprises Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian meta-sedimentary and meta-igneous rocks, intruded by later Paleozoic plutons.

The protoliths of the meta-igneous rocks include mafic, intermediate, and felsic volcanics and plutons.

It represents the largest exotic terrane in the Appalachians, and underlies an enormous area of the southeastern United States.