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Tectonics (from the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 word tekton, meaning "builder") is a field of study within geology
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
 concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere
Lithosphere

File:Plates tect2 en.svgFile:Earth-crust-cutaway-english.svgThe lithosphere is the rigid outermost shell of a rocky planet....
 of the Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
 (or other planet
Planet

A planet , as 2006 definition of planet by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting a star or Stellar evolution#Stellar remnants that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared the neighbourhood of planetesimals....
s) and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures.

Tectonics is concerned with the orogenies
Orogeny

Orogeny refers to natural mountain building, and may be studied as a tectonic structural event, as a geographical event, and a chronological event: orogenic events cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity, affect certain regions of rocks and crust, and happen within a specific period of time....
 and tectonic development of craton
Craton

A craton is an old and stable part of the continental crust that has survived the merging and splitting of continents and supercontinents for at least 500 million years....
s and tectonic terranes as well as the earthquake
Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
 and volcanic belt
Volcanic belt

A volcanic belt is a large volcano active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields. Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature where magma is created by partial melting of solid material in the Earth's crust and upper mantle ....
s which directly affect much of the global population.






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Plate Tectonics Map
Tectonics (from the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 word tekton, meaning "builder") is a field of study within geology
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
 concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere
Lithosphere

File:Plates tect2 en.svgFile:Earth-crust-cutaway-english.svgThe lithosphere is the rigid outermost shell of a rocky planet....
 of the Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
 (or other planet
Planet

A planet , as 2006 definition of planet by the International Astronomical Union , is a celestial body orbiting a star or Stellar evolution#Stellar remnants that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared the neighbourhood of planetesimals....
s) and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures.

Tectonics is concerned with the orogenies
Orogeny

Orogeny refers to natural mountain building, and may be studied as a tectonic structural event, as a geographical event, and a chronological event: orogenic events cause distinctive structural phenomena and related tectonic activity, affect certain regions of rocks and crust, and happen within a specific period of time....
 and tectonic development of craton
Craton

A craton is an old and stable part of the continental crust that has survived the merging and splitting of continents and supercontinents for at least 500 million years....
s and tectonic terranes as well as the earthquake
Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph....
 and volcanic belt
Volcanic belt

A volcanic belt is a large volcano active region. Other terms are used for smaller areas of activity, such as volcanic fields. Volcanic belts are found above zones of unusually high temperature where magma is created by partial melting of solid material in the Earth's crust and upper mantle ....
s which directly affect much of the global population. Tectonic studies are also important for understanding erosion
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 patterns in geomorphology
Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do: to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical mathematical model....
 and as guides for the economic geologist
Economic geology

Economic geology is concerned with earth materials that can be utilized for economic and/or industrial purposes. These materials include precious and base metals, nonmetallic minerals, construction-grade stone, petroleum minerals, coal, and water....
 searching for petroleum
Petroleum geology

Petroleum geology refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons ....
 and metal
Metal

In chemistry, a metal is a chemical element whose atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions , and form metallic bonds between other metal atoms and ionic bonds between nonmetal atoms....
lic ore
Ore

An ore is a type of Rock that contains minerals such as gemstones and metals that can be extracted through mining and refined for use. Samples of ore in the form of exceptionally beautiful crystals, exotic layering visible when sectioned or polished or metallic presentations such as large nuggets or crystalline formations of metals suc...
s.

A subfield of tectonics that deals with tectonic phenomena in the geologically recent period is called neotectonics
Neotectonics

Neotectonics is a subdiscipline of tectonics. It is the study of the motions and deformations of the Earth's crust which are current or recent in Geologic time scale....
.

Tectonic studies have application to lunar and planetary studies, whether or not those bodies have active tectonic plate systems.

Since the 1960s, plate tectonics
Plate tectonics

Plate tectonics describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift, developed during the first decades of the 20th century by Alfred Wegener, and seafloor spreading, understood during the 1960s....
 has become by far the dominant theory to explain the origin and forces responsible for the tectonic features of the continents and ocean basins.

There are three main types of tectonic regime
  • Extensional tectonics
    Extensional tectonics

    Extensional tectonics is concerned with the structures formed, and the tectonic processes associated with, the stretching of the Crust or lithosphere....
  • Thrust (Contractional) tectonics
    Thrust tectonics

    Thrust tectonics or contractional tectonics is concerned with the structures formed, and the Tectonics processes associated with, the shortening and thickening of the Crust or lithosphere....
  • Strike-slip tectonics
    Strike-slip tectonics

    Strike-slip tectonics is concerned with the structures formed by, and the tectonic processes associated with, zones of lateral displacement within the Crust or lithosphere....


See also


  • Geophysics
    Geophysics

    Geophysics, a major discipline of the Earth sciences, is the study of the Earth by the quantitative observation of its physical properties, especially by Seismology, Electromagnetism, Radioactive decay, galvanic and potential field methods....
  • Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
  • Seismology
    Seismology

    Seismology is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of Linear elasticity#Elastic waves through the Earth. The field also includes studies of earthquake effects, such as tsunamis as well as diverse seismic sources such as volcanic, tectonic, oceanic, atmospheric, and artificial processes ....
  • Volcanology
    Volcanology

    Volcanology is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma, and related geology and geophysical phenomena. The term volcanology is derived from the Latin language word Vulcan , the Roman mythology of fire....


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