Trans-Hudson orogeny
![Trans-Hudson orogen (blue) surrounded by the Wyoming Hearne-Rae and Superior cratons (pink) that constitute the central core of the North American Craton (Laurentia).](/Images/godic/202501/18/North_america_basement_rocks5524.png")
![The North American Craton, also called Laurentia.](/Images/godic/202501/18/North_america_craton_nps5524.gif")
![Trans-Hudson orogen and the Wyoming, Superior and Hearne cratons](/Images/godic/202501/18/Wyoming,_Mojave,_Yavapai,_Mazatzal,_Trans-Hudson5525.gif")
The Trans-Hudson orogeny or Trans-Hudsonian orogeny was the major mountain building event (orogeny) that formed the Precambrian Canadian Shield, the North American Craton (also called Laurentia), and the forging of the initial North American continent. It gave rise to the Trans-Hudson orogen (THO), or Trans-Hudson Orogen Transect (THOT), (also referred to as the Trans-Hudsonian Suture Zone (THSZ) or Trans-Hudson suture) which is the largest Paleoproterozoic orogenic belt in the world. It consists of a network of belts that were formed by Proterozoic crustal accretion and the collision of pre-existing Archean continents. The event occurred 2.0-1.8 billion years ago.