Home›Structural and Tectonic Formations›Cratons and ShieldsGroupCratons and ShieldsThis group collects the Structural and Tectonic Formations subcategory's members that are cratons and shields, the ancient, stable and often extremely old cores of continental crust that have resisted major tectonic deformation for hundreds of millions to billions of years. These are among the geologically oldest features in the subcategory, providing the stable platforms on which much younger structural and sedimentary features elsewhere in this atlas were later built.FactsBrowse BySourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsComparisonDefining ProcessWell-attestedAn old and stable part of continental lithosphere. 1Browse ByAll Cratons and ShieldsCratons and Shields34 entriesCratons and ShieldsFilter Results34 entriesFormation FamilyAllCratons and Shields (34)Formation TypeAllCratons and Shields (34)WhereAllAfrica (3)Antarctica (1)Argentina (1)Australia (2)Belarus (1)Bolivia (1)Botswana (2)Brazil (4)Canada (11)Central African Republic (1)China (1)Colombia (2)Democratic Republic of the Congo (1)Eswatini (1)France (2)Guyana (2)India (1)Namibia (1)North Korea (1)Peru (1)Republic of the Congo (1)Russia (5)South Africa (2)Suriname (2)Tanzania (2)Ukraine (1)United Kingdom (1)United States (5)Uruguay (1)Venezuela (2)Zimbabwe (2)Formed By (Process)AllErosion (1)Orogeny (1)Plate Tectonics (27)Geological AgeAllArchean (7)Rock TypeAllGneiss (1)Visitor AccessAllOpen (1)DisciplineAllGeology (2)Geomorphology (2)Structural Geology (30)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 34Agawa CanyonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksAldan ShieldStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksAmazonian CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksAnabar ShieldStructural and Tectonic Formations5 linksBaltic ShieldStructural and Tectonic Formations5 linksBangweulu BlockStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksCanadian ShieldStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksChurchill CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksCongo CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksDharwar CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations4 linksEast Antarctic ShieldStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksEast European CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksGawler CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations4 linksGuiana ShieldStructural and Tectonic Formations7 linksHearne CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksKaapvaal CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksKalahari CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksLaurentiaStructural and Tectonic Formations4 linksNorth Atlantic CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksNorth China CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksPilbara CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksRae CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksRío de la Plata CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations1 linkSão Francisco CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations5 linksSarmatian CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksSiberian CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksSlave CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksSuperior CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksTanzania CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations2 linksTrans-Hudson OrogenStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksUkrainian ShieldStructural and Tectonic Formations4 linksWest African CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksWyoming CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksZimbabwe CratonStructural and Tectonic Formations3 linksSources1. Wikipedia: Cratontier 2Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead sectionIn geology, a craton ( KRAYT-on, KRAT-on, or KRAY-tən; from Ancient Greek κράτος (kratos) 'strength') is an old and stable part of continental lithosphere (the Earth's two topmost layers, the crust and the lithospheric mantle).View the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.