Basement (geology)

In geology, the terms basement and crystalline basement are used to define the rocks below a sedimentary platform or cover. "The surface beneath which no sedimentary rock is found".^[1]

More generally, it is any rock below sedimentary rocks or sedimentary basins that are metamorphic or igneous in origin. In the same way the sediments and/or sedimentary rocks on top of the basement can be called a "cover" or "sedimentary cover".

Basement (geology) Media

Gneiss outcrop, basement rock, Scotland

References

↑ Kearey, Philip 2001. The new Penguin dictionary of geology. 2nd ed, London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-051494-5

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[1] Kearey, Philip 2001. The new Penguin dictionary of geology. 2nd ed, London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-051494-5

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