The oval-shaped basin of Hudson Bay occurs near the center of the round-oval Archaean crustal domain of the North American continent. This paper presents models of the geological structure and evolution of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle underlying Hudson Bay and surrounding tectonic provinces based on geological interpretations of regional geological and geophysical data and results of seismic tomography investigations that have been conducted under the Hudson Bay Lithospheric Experiment. The experiment was aimed at lithospheric processes directly related to the origin of the North American craton and the Hudson Bay basin. Hudson Bay is located directly above the lithospheric keel of North America. The geological history demonstrates systematic “renovation” of the basin: (1) origin and evolution of the Neoarchaean Lake Minto basin (~2.75 Ga); (2) accumulation of the Palaeoproterozoic volcanic–sedimentary filling of the epicontinental basin, relics of which is preserved on its passive margins (2.03–1.87 Ga); (3) origin of Ordovician–Late Devonian sedimentary sequence whose maximum thickness reaches 2.5 km; and (4) the development of Late Jurassic–Miocene sediment-filled ring-shaped trough immediately above the lithospheric keel. The Hudson Bay basin occurs above the lithospheric keel in compliance with thermomechanical model of ascending plume. Tomography studies have not detected evidence of either production or transformation of the lithosphere in the Palaeoproterozoic, which are implied by the model of the United Plates of America. Interpretations of tomography data reveal a vertical axial zone in the lithosphere beneath Hudson Bay, which extends from the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary to the base of the crust or, perhaps, even to the present day surface. The zone is made up of relatively light low-velocity igneous rocks, probably a swarm of kimberlite dikes or pipes. At 2.75 Ga, the North American continent was a single continental mass with Hudson Bay at its center.

哈德逊湾的椭圆形盆地位于北美大陆的圆形椭圆形古生界地壳中心附近。本文基于对哈德逊湾岩石圈实验的区域地质和地球物理数据的地质解释以及地震层析成像调查的结果，提出了哈德逊湾及其周围构造省份的亚大陆岩石圈地幔的地质结构和演化模型。该实验针对的是与北美克拉通和哈德逊湾盆地起源直接相关的岩石圈过程。哈德逊湾位于北美岩石圈龙骨的正上方。地质历史证明了盆地的系统性“革新”：（1）新太古湖明托盆地的起源和演化（〜2。75 Ga）；（2）上元古代盆地古元古代火山沉积沉积物的堆积，其遗迹保留在其被动边缘（2.03〜1.87 Ga）；（3）奥陶纪至晚泥盆世沉积序列的成因，最大厚度达到2.5 km；（4）在岩石圈龙骨正上方发育晚侏罗世-中新世沉积物充填的环形槽。哈德逊湾盆地发生在岩石圈龙骨上方，符合上升羽的热力学模型。层析成像研究尚未发现古元古生界岩石圈产生或转化的证据，这是美国联合板块的模型所隐含的。层析成像数据的解释揭示了哈德逊湾下方岩石圈的垂直轴向带，它从岩石圈-软流圈的边界延伸到地壳的底部，甚至可能延伸到今天的表面。该区域由相对较轻的低速火成岩组成，可能是一群金伯利岩堤或管道。在2.75 Ga，北美大陆是哈德逊湾为中心的单一大陆块。