ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Geology of Ontario

Geology is like a big puzzle and each piece is a different rock or mineral. In Ontario, there are many different types of rocks and minerals because the land has been around for a really long time.

Ontario used to be covered in water a long long time ago, and that's how some of the rocks formed. When the water went away, the land shifted and moved around. Sometimes there were big explosions which made mountains and big cracks in the earth.

In Ontario, there are a few main types of rocks. One type is called the Canadian Shield. It's mostly made of a rock called granite, which is very hard and sparkly. The Canadian Shield is very old, and it's been around for billions of years! It's a big part of Ontario because it covers a lot of the land.

Another type of rock found in Ontario is limestone. Limestone is made of tiny shells and skeletons of sea creatures that lived a really long time ago. There are lots of caves and cliffs made of limestone in Ontario, like the famous Niagara Falls!

There are also minerals and precious metals found in Ontario. There's a place called the Sudbury Basin, which is the second-largest crater in the world! It was created by a big asteroid that slammed into the earth. Because of the impact, there are a lot of minerals like nickel and copper found in the area.

So if you see some sparkly, shiny rocks in Ontario or a big cliff made of shells, you know they are part of the geology of Ontario!