inlier

[in-lahy-er]

noun

Geology.

1. an outcrop of a formation completely surrounded by rocks of younger age.

inlier

/ ˈɪnˌlaɪə /

noun

1. an outcrop of rocks that is entirely surrounded by younger rocks

Word History and Origins

Origin of inlier¹

First recorded in 1855–60; in + (out)lier

Example Sentences

According to the paper, 1.66 billion years ago a chasm grew between the Georgetown Inlier and Laurentia.

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Lead author Adam Nordsvan from Curtin University explains to IFL Science that the Inlier of Georgetown is like a “continental ribbon” described as a “piece of continental crust that has rifted from a craton,” in this case Laurentia.

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A new geological study led by researchers from Curtin University in Western Australia has determined that rocks beneath the town of Georgetown, North Queensland—commonly known as the Georgetown Inlier—were once a part of Canada’s Western Laurentia, the geological core of North America.

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The Cornbrash is exposed along part of the Billing brook, and in a small inlier near Yaxley.

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Silurian rocks, the oldest in the county, form a small inlier about 2 sq. m. in area at Rumney and Pen-y-lan, north of Cardiff, and consist of mudstones and sandstones of Wenlock and Ludlow age; a feeble representative of the Wenlock Limestone also is present.

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