Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 30, 2026

Tectonic block

A tectonic block is a part of the Earth's crust that can be treated as a solid rigid crustal block or lithospheric section. A tectonic block may be bounded by faults. It may move from one place to another because of a tectonic shift, and they may also be rotated. A tectonic block may have a proper name for example, the Muness Phyllite Block, or the South China Block.

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May 30, 2026
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A tectonic block is a part of the Earth's crust that can be treated as a solid rigid crustal block or lithospheric section. A tectonic block may be bounded by faults. It may move from one place to another because of a tectonic shift, and they may also be rotated. A tectonic block may have a proper name for example, the Muness Phyllite Block (which is located in Unst and Uyea in Scotland),1 or the South China Block.2

Early use of the term tectonic block referred to the blocks of rock on either side of a fault.3

Continental regions may be subdivided into tectonic blocks which are mapped in order to determine earthquake risk.4

References

References

  1. Flinn, D. (1 May 2009). "A Tectonic Analysis of the Muness Phyllite Block of Unst and Uyea, Shetland". Geological Magazine. 89 (4): 263–272. doi:10.1017/S0016756800067741.
  2. Faure, Michel; Lepvrier, Claude; Nguyen, Vuong Van; Vu, Tich Van; Lin, Wei; Chen, Zechao (January 2014). "The South China block-Indochina collision: Where, when, and how?". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 79: 260–274. doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2013.09.022.
  3. Gilbert, G. K. (1909). "Earthquake Forecasts". Science. 29 (734): 121–138. doi:10.1126/science.29.734.121. JSTOR 1635153. PMID 17730301.
  4. McCaffrey, R.; Bird, P.; Bormann, J.; Haller, K.M.; Hammond, W.C.; Thatcher, W.; Wells, R.E.; Zeng, Y. "Appendix A—NSHMP Block Model of Western United States Active Tectonics" (PDF). pp. 27–47.