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craton
(redirected from cratonic)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
cra·ton  (krtn)
n.
A large portion of a continental plate that has been relatively undisturbed since the Precambrian era and includes both shield and platform layers.

[German Kraton, from Greek kratos, power; see kar- in Indo-European roots.]

cra·tonic (kr-tnk) adj.

craton [ˈkreɪtən]
n
(Earth Sciences / Geological Science) Geology a stable part of the earth's continental crust or lithosphere that has not been deformed significantly for many millions, even hundreds of millions, of years See shield [7]
[from Greek kratos strength]
cratonic  [krəˈtɒnɪk] adj

craton  (krtn)
A large portion of a continental plate that has been relatively undisturbed since the Precambrian era and includes both shield and platform layers.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.craton - the part of a continent that is stable and forms the central mass of the continent; typically Precambrian
continent - one of the large landmasses of the earth; "there are seven continents"; "pioneers had to cross the continent on foot"
part, piece - a portion of a natural object; "they analyzed the river into three parts"; "he needed a piece of granite"


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California) present results of an extensive study of Asselian to lower Kungurian colonial Rugosa from shelf carbonates along the cratonic margin of Pangaea, from the Urals to Bolivia, and in those allochthonous terranes of western North America containing CAU corals.
Scientists got their first inklings that cratonic plates differ from plates under oceans and the younger, deformed parts of continents, called orogenic zones, in the 1960s.
The Mistassini Project with its abundant indicator mineral recoveries and Winisk Project with its excellent cratonic setting and geophysical data provide potential for kimberlite and diamond discovery in the short and mid-term.
 
 
 
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