In geology, a platform is a continental area covered by relatively flat or gently tilted, mainly sedimentary strata, which overlie a basement of consolidated igneous or metamorphic rocks of an earlier deformation.
Platforms, shields and the basement rocks together constitute cratons. Platform sediments can be classified into the following groups: a "protoplatform" of metamorphosed sediments at the bottom, a "quasiplatform" of slightly deformed sediments, a "cataplatform", and an "orthoplatform" at the top. The Mesoproterozoic Jotnian sediments of the Baltic area are examples of a "quasiplatform". The post-Ordovician rocks of the South American Platform are examples of an orthoplatform.
Extended crust | Oceanic crust: 0–20 Ma 20–65 Ma >65 Ma |
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