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The bedrock geology of northern Norway is dominated by rock complexes of Precambrian to Early Palaeozoic age, large parts of which have been involved to varying extent in the Caledonian orogeny ( Figure 1 ). In general, there is a basic two-fold division into the Caledonides sensu stricto and a mid-crustal continental lithospheric basement comprising autochthonous crystalline complexes that range in age from Neoarchaean to Late Palaeoproterozoic and form the northern margin of the Fennoscandian Shield (Gaál et al., 1989; Daly et al., 2006 ). These older Precambrian rocks occur mainly in eastern Finnmark and western Troms, and some are either affected locally by Caledonian deformation or incorporated as thrust slices in the Caledonian nappes.