Laurentia<span> (</span>North American Craton<span>) is a large continental </span>craton<span> that forms the ancient geological core of the </span>North American<span> continent. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate </span>continent<span> as it is now in the form of North America, although originally it also included the cratonic areas of </span>Greenland<span> and also the northwestern part of </span>Scotland, known as theHebridean Terrane<span>. During other times in its past, Laurentia has been part of larger continents and </span>supercontinents<span> and itself consists of many smaller </span>terranes<span> assembled on a network of Early </span>Proterozoic orogenic<span> belts. Small </span>microcontinents<span> and oceanic islands collided with and sutured onto the ever-growing Laurentia, and together formed the stable </span>Precambriancraton seen today.
The strength of the gravitational force between two objects depends on two factors, mass and distance. the force of gravity the masses exert on each other. If one of the masses is doubled, the force of gravity between the objects is doubled.