Platform (geology)

Short description: A continental area covered by relatively flat or gently tilted, mainly sedimentary strata

Geologic provinces of the world (USGS)

Shield

Platform

Orogen

Basin

Large igneous province

Extended crust

| Oceanic crust:

0–20 Ma

20–65 Ma

>65 Ma

|

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.[1] 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".[2] The post-Ordovician rocks of the South American Platform are examples of an orthoplatform.[3]

## See also

* Carbonate platform
* East European Platform
* List of shields and cratons

## References

1. ↑ Parker, Sybil P. (Ed.). 1997. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Geology and Mineralogy. New York: McGraw-Hill.
2. ↑ Nagornji, M.A.; Nikolaev, V.G. (2005). "The quasiplatform sediments of the East European Platform". Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 7 (5): 1–12. doi:10.2205/2005ES000171.
3. ↑ de Almeida, F. F. M. (1976). "The Upper Precambrian of South America". Boletim IG-USP 7. http://ppegeo.igc.usp.br/scielo.php?pid=S0100-38791976000100006&script=sci_arttext. Retrieved 2015-09-29.

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