: a stable relatively immobile area of the earth's crust that forms the nuclear mass of a continent or the central basin of an ocean
Examples of craton in a Sentence
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The best place to look for ancient craters is in regions of the Earth known as cratons—large, geologically stable stretches that have changed little over time.
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Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 18 Sep. 2024
The evidence was found in marine sedimentary rocks from the Franceville Basin near Gabon in Central Africa, which experienced an episode of underwater volcanic activity from two Precambrian continents, or cratons, colliding 2.1 billion years ago, according to the study.
—Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 29 July 2024
Sale of 'Apex' renews debate The two Precambrian cratons examined in the study are the Congo and São Francisco cratons, which were stable Archaean blocks that were once part of a single landmass in central Africa and eastern Brazil, according to Fru.
—Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 29 July 2024
Some older rocks still survive in cratons, stable portions of continental crust that haven´t changed much over time.
—Big Think, 17 June 2024
The churning mantle can cause ripples at the craton’s base, setting off eruptions over tens of millions of years, helping explain why many kimberlites seem to migrate toward continental interiors over such a long time.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 26 July 2023
The loss of the thick keel from a continent’s craton could have caused the land to bob upward like a buoy, wreaking havoc at the surface in a cascade of impacts that the team is still studying.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 26 July 2023
Unlike the volcanoes that more commonly pop up near the thinner edges of continents, the eruptions that produced most kimberlites came through the thick, stable continental cores known as cratons.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 26 July 2023
The Kaapvaal craton is the closest ancient continental crust to the Southwest Indian Ridge.
—Theo Nicitopoulos, Discover Magazine, 16 June 2022
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Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 18 Sep. 2024
The evidence was found in marine sedimentary rocks from the Franceville Basin near Gabon in Central Africa, which experienced an episode of underwater volcanic activity from two Precambrian continents, or cratons, colliding 2.1 billion years ago, according to the study.
—Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 29 July 2024
Sale of 'Apex' renews debate The two Precambrian cratons examined in the study are the Congo and São Francisco cratons, which were stable Archaean blocks that were once part of a single landmass in central Africa and eastern Brazil, according to Fru.
—Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 29 July 2024
Some older rocks still survive in cratons, stable portions of continental crust that haven´t changed much over time.
—Big Think, 17 June 2024
The churning mantle can cause ripples at the craton’s base, setting off eruptions over tens of millions of years, helping explain why many kimberlites seem to migrate toward continental interiors over such a long time.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 26 July 2023
The loss of the thick keel from a continent’s craton could have caused the land to bob upward like a buoy, wreaking havoc at the surface in a cascade of impacts that the team is still studying.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 26 July 2023
Unlike the volcanoes that more commonly pop up near the thinner edges of continents, the eruptions that produced most kimberlites came through the thick, stable continental cores known as cratons.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 26 July 2023
The Kaapvaal craton is the closest ancient continental crust to the Southwest Indian Ridge.
—Theo Nicitopoulos, Discover Magazine, 16 June 2022
Dictionary Entries Near craton
Cite this Entry
“Craton.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/craton. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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