EUROPE/East European Craton 47 Figure 12 The specifics of Volgo Uralia were largely determined by the development of Palaeoproterozoic domal structures in the Neoarchaean continental crust At about 2.1 2.0 Ga, the marginal belt facing Sarmatia was formed This belt is composed of Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary commonly flysh like rocks, which suggest the one time existence of a passive margin Subsequent Mesoproterozoic rifting and the formation of troughs, aulacogens, and basins influenced the structure of Volgo Uralia more than that of the other two East European crustal segments The Peri Caspian Basin is unique in the East European Craton in having a relatively shallow Moho and a great thickness of sedimentary cover ß Svetlana Bogdanova central parts are Palaeoproterozoic granite and gneiss complexes In contrast, the very large circular structure in the Middle Volga megablock has Palaeoproterozoic rocks and Palaeoproterozoic reworking on its flanks, while north-east–south-west striking Archaean granulites similar to those outside the dome occupy the centre All the domes feature radial and ring-shaped faults related to the deformation of the Archaean crust and associated with rare Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks The domes were formed between 2.3 and 2.0 Ga and may be related to the nearly coeval collision of Volgo-Uralia with Sarmatia Along that collision zone and in the north-east of Volgo-Uralia there are large areas of Palaeoproterozoic turbiditic and metapelitic mica schists, silts, sandstones, and carbonaceous shales formed on the shelf margins of the crustal segment The Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic rocks of Volgo-Uralia are cut by numerous mafic dykes and sills, which were intruded during several stages of Meso- to Neoproterozoic rifting The Proterozoic fault systems of Volgo-Uralia strongly influenced the formation and structure of the sedimentary cover and the locations of the major Palaeozoic oil and gas resources Assembly of the East European Craton The assembly of the East European Craton can be followed from palaeomagnetic data, isotopic ages, and analyses of rock formation and igneous activity at the margins of the three involved crustal segments (Figure 13) First to collide were Volgo-Uralia and Sarmatia The collision occurred at 2.1–2.05 Ga, when VolgoUralia was thrust onto Sarmatia Geophysically, the suture can be followed for 30 km beneath VolgoUralia At the Earth’s surface, the junction zone contains extensive shelf deposits on the Volgo-Uralian