Terrane

In <a href="/facts/Geology/WGvVRIYF">geology</a>, a terrane is a <a href="/facts/Crust_(geology)/FYG1kP4F">crust</a> fragment formed on a <a href="/facts/Plate_tectonics/RtRG5lY4">tectonic plate</a> (or broken off from it) and <a href="/facts/Accretion_(geology)/R9DjY3jb">accreted</a> or "<a href="/facts/Suture_(geology)/CxXa0o5W">sutured</a>" to crust lying on another plate. The crustal block or fragment preserves its distinctive geologic history, which is different from the surrounding areas—hence the term "exotic" terrane. The suture zone between a terrane and the crust it attaches to is usually identifiable as a <a href="/facts/Fault_(geology)/0Fw2ladx">fault</a>. A <a href="/facts/Sedimentary_rock/HQDCjrco">sedimentary</a> deposit that buries the contact of the terrane with adjacent rock is called an overlap formation. An <a href="/facts/Igneous_rock/xeMJhUah">igneous</a> intrusion that has intruded and obscured the contact of a terrane with adjacent rock is called a <a href="/facts/Igneous_intrusion/y65IUQps">stitching pluton</a>.
There is also an older usage of the term terrane, which described a series of related rock formations or an area with a preponderance of a particular rock or rock group.

Terrane open-in-new

Terrane