craton
/ˈkɹeɪtɒn/
craton noun: a part of the Earth’s crust that has survived the splitting and merging of continents.
Noun
craton (plural cratons)
- A part of the Earth’s crust that has survived the splitting and merging of continents.
- Application of the concept of a craton circumscribed by surrounding miogeosynclines was particularly vexing to stratigraphers whose study areas extended across the line theoretically delineating distinct tectonic terranes.1988, L. L. Sloss, Chapter 1: Introduction, L. L. Sloss (editor), Sedimentary Cover—North American Craton: U.S., Geological Society of America, The Geology of North America, Volume D-2, page 2
- Although cratons are not tectonically active, they can be located near active margins, such as the Brazilian craton at the rear of the Andean active margin.2008, Nasser Ennih, Jean-Paul Liégeois, The boundaries of the West African craton, with reference to the basement of the Moroccan metacratonic Anti-Atlas belt, N. Ennih, J.-P. Liégeois (editors), The...
Forms of craton
| plural | cratons |
|---|
Origin of craton
From Ancient Greek κράτος (krátos, “strength, might”). Shortened from original cratogen which was analogical to orogen.
Words formed from craton
Questions about craton
- What does craton mean?
- Craton means a part of the Earth’s crust that has survived the splitting and merging of continents.
- What part of speech is craton?
- Craton is a noun.
- How do you pronounce craton?
- Craton is pronounced /ˈkɹeɪtɒn/.
- What is the plural of craton?
- The plural of craton is cratons.
Words near craton in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: craton (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “craton.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/craton. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.