crustal plate

American  

noun

Geology.

1. a large block or tabular section of the lithosphere that reacts to tectonic forces as a unit and moves as such.

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Example Sentences

The East and North Anatolian and the San Andreas are all transform faults, products of the stresses that build at the boundary where one of the Earth’s large crustal plates slowly moves past another.

From New York Times

In some cases the destruction from strike-slip earthquakes is more widespread than from larger quakes that occur in so-called subduction zones, where one large crustal plate is sliding beneath another.

From New York Times

The crustal plates on the surface of the Earth move at about the speed your fingernails grow.

From Washington Post

It’s known for frequent volcanic and seismic activity caused by the colliding of crustal plates.

From Washington Times

The 1985 quake and the one on Tuesday occurred in the same subduction zone, an area where one of the earth’s large crustal plates is sliding under another.

From New York Times