terrane

geology

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July 14, 2026

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In geology, a terrane refers to the area or surface where a particular rock or group of rocks is prevalent. It is essentially the terrain or landform associated with specific geological materials.12

The concept of terranes is also used in plate tectonics to describe fragments of crust, such as island arcs or microcontinents, that have been displaced from their original location and attached to a larger continental mass. This process, known as accretionary tectonics, occurs at subduction zones where denser oceanic plates are pulled beneath continental plates. These displaced fragments are called allochthonous terranes.3

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Cambrian Period
Paleogeography
Several terranes (fault-bounded fragments of the Earth’s crust) seem to have been located near or attached to the margin of the northern Africa sector of Gondwana in the high southern latitudes, but many details of their Cambrian geographic relations are unknown. These terranes now make up…
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Several terranes (fault-bounded fragments of the Earth’s crust) seem to have been located near or attached to the margin of the northern Africa sector of Gondwana in the high southern latitudes, but many details of their Cambrian geographic relations are unknown. These terranes now make up…
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Devonian Period
Asia
…composed of separated microcratons, or terranes, that appear to have been attached or adjacent to the northern margin of Gondwana. The coalescence into present-day Asia took place after the Devonian. Devonian rocks are well known to fringe the central Siberian craton (a Devonian microcontinent), particularly in some of the northern…
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…composed of separated microcratons, or terranes, that appear to have been attached or adjacent to the northern margin of Gondwana. The coalescence into present-day Asia took place after the Devonian. Devonian rocks are well known to fringe the central Siberian craton (a Devonian microcontinent), particularly in some of the northern…
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Jurassic Period
North America
…America; more than 50 Jurassic terranes have been incorporated onto the continent. Some of the terranes may have originated from tropical areas and traveled far before colliding into North America. During the Nevadan orogeny, volcanic island arcs, including the Sierra Nevada, collided with the continent from northern California to British…
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…America; more than 50 Jurassic terranes have been incorporated onto the continent. Some of the terranes may have originated from tropical areas and traveled far before colliding into North America. During the Nevadan orogeny, volcanic island arcs, including the Sierra Nevada, collided with the continent from northern California to British…
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