Basement (geology)

Gneiss outcrop, basement rock, Scotland

In geology, basement and crystalline basement are crystalline rocks lying above the mantle and beneath all other rocks and sediments. They are sometimes exposed at the surface, but often they are buried under miles of rock and sediment.[1] The basement rocks lie below a sedimentary platform or cover, or more generally any rock below sedimentary rocks or sedimentary basins that are metamorphic or igneous in origin. In the same way, the sediments or sedimentary rocks on top of the basement can be called a "cover" or "sedimentary cover".

Crustal rocks are modified several times before they become basement,[clarification needed] and these transitions alter their composition.[1]

  1. ^ a b Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from Map Shows Content and Origins of the Nation’s Geologic Basement. United States Geological Survey. April 23, 2015.