Craton - Wikipedia
WebA craton (/ ˈ k r eɪ t ɒ n / KRAYT-on, / ˈ k r æ t ɒ n / KRAT-on, or / ˈ k r eɪ t ən / {{respell|KRAY|tən; from Greek: κράτος kratos "strength") is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere, which consists of Earth's two topmost layers, the crust and the uppermost mantle.
Craton | Structure, Shield, Platform | Britannica
WebCraton, the stable interior portion of a continent characteristically composed of ancient crystalline basement rock. The term craton is used to distinguish such regions from mobile geosynclinal troughs, which are linear belts of sediment accumulations subject to subsidence (i.e., downwarping).
Cratons, Why Are You Still Here? - Eos
WebMar 25, 2021 · Deciphering this evidence reveals information about the origins of plate tectonics, which are closely related to craton formation, as well as about the conditions that favor life on the planet.
Deep continental roots and cratons | Nature
WebAug 11, 2021 · The formation and preservation of cratons—the oldest parts of the continents, comprising over 60 per cent of the continental landmass—remains an enduring problem. Key to craton development is...
What is a craton? How many are there? How do they relate
WebA craton is a large, coherent domain of Earth's continental crust that has attained and maintained long-term stability, having undergone little internal deformation, except perhaps near its margins due to interaction with neighbouring terranes.
Creating Continents: Archean Cratons Tell the Story
WebThe Wyoming craton preserves a four-billion-year record of geologic history, from the earliest events recorded in detrital and xenocrystic zircons dating back to ca. 4.0 Ga to magmatism associated with the Quaternary Yellowstone hotspot. The craton extends over an area >300,000 km 2 with crustal thickness up to 50 km (Fig. 2). The Archean rocks ...
Modeling the Creation of Cratons, Earth’s Secret Keepers - Eos
WebJan 12, 2021 · Modeling the Creation of Cratons, Earth’s Secret Keepers. Geoscientists have long been trying to answer the complicated questions of how and why Earth’s continents formed. New research ...
Craton | Encyclopedia.com
WebMay 29, 2018 · Cratons are large regions of continental crust that have remained tectonically stable for a prolonged period of time, often a billion years or more. Precambrian cratons are commonly cored by Archaean granite-greenstone terrains and may be partly covered by sedimentary platform sequences.
craton – An Introduction to Geology
Webcraton. The stable interior part of a continent, typically more than a billion years old, and sometimes as old as 2.5-3 billion years. When exposed on the surface, a craton is called a shield.
Laurentia - Wikipedia
WebLaurentia or the North American Craton is a large continental craton that forms the ancient geological core of North America. Many times in its past, Laurentia has been a separate continent , as it is now in the form of North America, although originally it also included the cratonic areas of Greenland and also the northwestern part of Scotland ...
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