The northwest-dipping Virgin River shear zone is part of the Snowbird tectonic zone, which divides the Churchill Province into Rae and Hearne subprovinces. Although Archean rocks are juxtaposed along most of the Snowbird tectonic zone, the Virgin River shear zone separates Paleoproterozoic intermediate orthogneiss from Archean orthogneiss of granitoid composition. Paleoproterozoic supracrustal rocks of the Virgin schist group core the shear zone. Kinematic indicators suggest that the oldest displacement in the northwest-dipping shear zone was reverse oblique. The shear zone was stitched by ca. 1830–1820 Ma granite plutons, which were deformed during reactivation of the structure.

Very few modern age determinations are available for fundamental rocks internal to the Virgin River shear zone, with the exception being the youngest granite. Five rock samples were collected from within the structure for U-Pb zircon geochronology. Detrital zircon geochronology suggests that the previously undated metasedimentary rocks of the Virgin schist group were deposited after ~2150 Ma. A sample of leucotonalite collected metres from outcrops of Virgin schist group but with unclear contact relationships yielded a crystallization age of 3133 ± 14 Ma and a Sm-Nd depleted mantle age of 3.48 Ga. This rock is likely an equivalent of the Paleoarchean to Mesoarchean Chipman tonalite that is exposed directly along strike to the northeast. A sample of diorite from the Virgin River shear zone has a crystallisation age of 1940 ± 7 Ma with a 2.70 Ga Sm-Nd depleted mantle age. The sample could represent part of a previously unrecognised volcanic arc. Late tectonic granite that stitched the Virgin River shear zone has ca. 1820 and 1830 Ma crystallisation ages. A sample of granite that lies in the Snowbird tectonic zone beneath the Athabasca Basin to the northeast yielded an imprecise age of ca. 1833 ± 31 Ma, consistent with the previous ages, and a 3.48 Ga Sm-Nd depleted mantle age.

Given that the Virgin River shear zone cross cuts 1.940–1.925 Ga gneissic fabrics contained in Paleoproterozoic plutonic rocks of the Rae subprovince, the age of the shear zone must be younger than this fabric. The strain recorded along this boundary, coupled with the drastic change in geology across it, support the notion of a collisional Snowbird orogeny along the Virgin River shear zone at ca. 1.90 Ga.

西北浸渍的维尔京河剪切带是雪鸟构造带的一部分，该区将丘吉尔省分为雷伊省和赫恩省。尽管在大部分的雪鸟构造带上并列着太古宙岩石，但维京河剪切带将古元古代的中生正片麻岩与古生代花岗岩体划分为花岗岩。维尔京片岩群的古元古代上壳岩是剪切带的核心。运动学指标表明，西北倾角剪切带中最古老的位移是反向倾斜。剪切区缝了约。1830年至1820年Ma花岗岩岩体，在结构恢复过程中变形。

维尔京河剪切带内部的基本岩石几乎没有现代的测定方法，唯一的例外是最年轻的花岗岩。从该结构内部收集了五个岩石样品用于U-Pb锆石年代学。碎屑锆石的年代学表明，维珍片岩群先前未曾记录的变质沉积岩是在〜2150 Ma之后沉积的。从维京片岩组露头收集的米白色硅藻土样品，但接触关系不清楚，其结晶年龄为3133±14 Ma，Sm-Nd耗尽的地幔年龄为3.48 Ga。直接在东北走向的裸露石。来自维京河剪切带的闪长岩样品的结晶年龄为1940±7 Ma，结晶年龄为2。70 Ga Sm-Nd耗尽了地幔年龄。该样品可能代表了以前无法识别的火山弧的一部分。缝在维京河剪切带上的晚期构造花岗岩约有 1820年和1830年马氏结晶时代。位于阿萨巴斯卡盆地东北部雪鸟构造带中的一个花岗岩样本的不精确年龄大约为。1833±31 Ma，与以前的年龄一致，并且地幔年龄为3.48 Ga Sm-Nd耗尽。

考虑到维京河剪切带横切了Rae府古元古代生代岩中所含的1.940–1.925 Ga片麻岩织物，剪切带的年龄必须比这种织物年轻。沿该边界记录的应变，再加上沿其边界的地质变化，都支持沿约维珍河沿处女河剪切带发生的碰撞雪鸟造山运动的概念。1.90 ga。