Related Words

Lithosphere: The solid, outer portion of the earth's crust coupled to the rigid upper mantle. Part of the geosphere.

Magma Chamber: A full or emptied magma reservoir in the shallow portion of the lithosphere.

Pangaea: The name proposed by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener for a supercontinent that existed at the end of the Paleozoic Era and consisted of all the Earths landmasses.

Lithospheric Plate: A large slab of the lithosphere that can be moved by convection current motion within the mantle.

Asthenosphere: A portion of the upper mantle that is directly below the lithosphere. A zone of low strength in the upper mantle defines the top of the asthenosphere. This weak zone allows the plates of the . . . View Full Definition

Gaia: A hypothetical superorganism composed of the Earths four spheres: the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere.

Tectonic Plates: Segments of the lithosphere that comprise the surface of the Earth much the way a turtle shell is composed of its plates.

Geosphere: Considered the solid portions of the earth, including the hydrosphere and the lithosphere, as opposed to the atmosphere, which lies above it. At their conjunction is the biosphere.