Topic summary
Basement rock
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Basement (geology).
Continental crust
Basement rock is the thick foundation of ancient, and oldest, metamorphic and igneous rock that forms the crust of continents, often in the form of granite. Basement rock is contrasted to overlying sedimentary rocks which are laid down on top of the basement rocks after the continent was formed, such as sandstone and limestone. The sedimentary rocks which may be deposited on top of the basement usually form a relatively thin veneer, but can be more than 5 kilometres (3 mi) thick. The basement rock of the crust can be 32–48 kilometres (20–30 mi) thick or more. The basement rock can be located under layers of sedimentary rock, or be visible at the surface.