lithosphere

thumb|upright=1.35|The tectonic plates of the lithosphere on Earth thumb|upright=1.35|Earth cutaway from center to surface, the lithosphere comprising the crust and lithospheric mantle (detail not to scale)

AI overview

The lithosphere is the rigid outer layer of Earth made up of the crust and the upper part of the mantle, and it's divided into large sections called tectonic plates. Understanding the lithosphere matters because these plates move and interact, which shapes Earth's surface features like mountains, earthquakes, and ocean basins.

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Commons category: Lithospheres
exact match: purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_01000646

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~8 min read

Article

12 sections

Contents

Earth's lithosphere
History of the concept
Types
Oceanic lithosphere
Subducted lithosphere
Continental lithosphere
Mantle xenoliths
Microorganisms
See also
References
Further reading
External links

A lithosphere is the rigid outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust and the lithospheric mantle, the topmost portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of up to thousands of years or more. The crust and upper mantle are distinguished on the basis of chemistry and mineralogy.