craton A craton ( , , or ; from "strength") is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere, which consists of Earth's two topmost layers, the crust and the uppermost mantle. Having often survived cycles of merging and rifting of contine ...

is an ancient part of the Earth's continental crust which has been more or less stable since

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

times. Cratons whose ancient rocks are widely exposed at the surface, often with relatively subdued relief, are known as

shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

. If the ancient rocks are largely overlain by a cover of younger rocks then the 'hidden' craton may be referred to as a platform.

List of shields

* Western Ethiopian Shield * Amazonian Shield of central South America **

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (; ; ; ) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a 1.7 billion-year-old Precambrian geological formation in northeast South America that forms a portion of the northern coast. The higher elevations on ...

**Guaporé or Central Brazilian Shield * The Angaran Shield of West Siberia *

Arabian-Nubian Shield The Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) is an exposure of Precambrian crystalline rocks on the flanks of the Red Sea. The crystalline rocks are mostly Neoproterozoic in age. Geographically – and from north to south – the ANS includes parts of Israel ...

* (Western) Australian Shield *

Baltic Shield The Baltic Shield (or Fennoscandian Shield) is a segment of the Earth's crust belonging to the East European craton, East European Craton, representing a large part of Fennoscandia, northwestern Russia and the northern Baltic Sea. It is composed ...

Fennoscandia __NOTOC__ Fennoscandia (Finnish language, Finnish, Swedish language, Swedish and ; ), or the Fennoscandian Peninsula, is a peninsula in Europe which includes the Scandinavian Peninsula, Scandinavian and Kola Peninsula, Kola peninsulas, mainland ...

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...

a.k.a. Laurentian Shield *The China-Korean Shield containing the North China Craton *The East Antarctic Shield containing the East Antarctic Craton * Indian Shield * Man Shield

List of named cratons

Listed by modern continent and

Gondwana Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...

, include:

West Gondwana

South America

* Amazonian Craton **

**Amazonian Shield * São Francisco Craton (Congo Craton) * Rio Apa Craton * Río de la Plata Craton * Arequipa–Antofalla Craton *São Luís cratonic fragment *Luís Alves cratonic fragment

Africa

West African Craton The West African Craton (WAC) is one of the five cratons of the Precambrian basement rock of Africa that make up the African Plate, the others being the Kalahari craton, Congo craton, Saharan Metacraton and Tanzania Craton.Jessell M.W., Li ...

* East Saharan Meta-craton * Congo Craton, central southern Africa ** Bangweulu Block,

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

* Tanzanian Craton * Kalahari Craton ** Kaapvaal craton,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(3.6–2.5 Ga) ** Zimbabwe Craton (3.5 Ga) ***Sebakwe Craton

Antarctic-East African Orogen

* Arabian Plate **Part of the Arabian–Nubian Shield * Western Ethiopian Shield *Eastern Ethiopian Shield (part of the Somali Plate) **Part of Madagascar

East Gondwana

Indian Subcontinent

* Indian Craton ** Aravalli Craton,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

** Bundelkand Craton,

** Dharwar Craton,

(3.4–2.6 Ga) ** Singhbhum Craton,

** Bastar Craton,

Antarctica

* East Antarctic Craton Australia cratons EN

Australia

* Altjawarra Craton * Central Craton * Curnamona Craton, South Australia *

Gawler craton The Gawler Craton covers approximately 440,000 square kilometres of central South Australia. Its Precambrian crystalline basement crustal block was cratonised ca. 1550–1450 Ma. Prior to 1550 Ma the craton comprised a number of active Protero ...

, central South Australia * Pilbara Craton, Western Australia * Yilgarn craton, Western Australia (4.4 Ga)

North America

(or Laurentian Shield) * Churchill Craton * Hearne Craton * Nain Craton (part of North Atlantic Craton) *

North American Craton North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' ...

(Laurentia) * Rae Craton * Sask Craton * Sclavia Craton * Slave Craton,

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(4.03–3.5 Ga) *

Superior Craton The Superior Craton is a stable fault block, crustal block covering Quebec, Ontario, and southeast Manitoba in Canada, and northern Minnesota in the United States. It is the biggest craton among those formed during the Archean period. A craton is a ...

and northern United States (3.7–2.7 Ga) *

Wyoming Craton The Wyoming Craton is a craton in the west-central United States and western Canada – more specifically, in Montana, Wyoming, southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, and parts of northern Utah. Also called the Wyoming Province, it is the init ...

Eurasia

Eastern Eurasia

* East China Craton * North China Craton (sometimes called Sino-Korean Craton), (2.5 Ga) *

South China Craton The South China Craton or South China Block is one of the Precambrian continental blocks in China. It is traditionally divided into the Yangtze Plate, Yangtze Block in the NW and the Cathaysia, Cathaysia Block in the SE. The Jiangshan–Shaoxing ...

(also known as Yangtze Craton) *

Siberian Craton Siberia, also known as Siberian Craton, Angaraland (or simply Angara) and Angarida, is an ancient craton in the heart of Siberia. Today forming the Central Siberian Plateau, it formed an independent landmass prior to its fusion into Pangea during ...

, sometimes called Angara Craton. ** Aldan Shield ** Anabar Shield *Tarim Craton, China

Northern and Eastern Europe

* East European Craton, the core of

Baltica Baltica is a paleocontinent that formed in the Paleoproterozoic and now constitutes northwestern Eurasia, or Europe north of the Trans-European Suture Zone and west of the Ural Mountains. The thick core of Baltica, the East European Craton, i ...

** Volgo- Uralian Craton,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(3.0–2.7 Ga) **

, part of the East European Craton; Fennoscandian Shield, the exposed Northwestern part of the Baltic Shield in Norway, Sweden and Finland (3.1 Ga) ***Karelian Craton, part of the Fennoscandian Shield in Southeast

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

, (3.4 Ga) ***Kola Craton, part of the Fennoscandian Shield,

Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...

, Northwest

***Belomorian Craton, part of the Fennoscandian Shield, between the Karelian and Kola cratons ** Sarmatian Craton (3.7–2.8 Ga) *** Ukrainian Shield * Midlands Microcraton of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

* North Atlantic Craton

References

*{{Cite journal , title=Late Neoproterozoic rise and fall of the northern Arabian–Nubian shield: The role of lithospheric mantle delamination and subsequent thermal subsidence , author=Dov Avigad and Zohar Gvirtzman , doi=10.1016/j.tecto.2009.04.018 , year=2009 , journal=Tectonophysics , url=http://earth.huji.ac.il/data/pics/AvigadGvirtzman.pdf , volume=477 , issue=3–4 , pages=217–228 , bibcode=2009Tectp.477..217A , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409154457/http://earth.huji.ac.il/data/pics/AvigadGvirtzman.pdf , archivedate=2011-04-09 * * Shields and cratons fr:Craton