LITHOSPHERE (Gr. XLOoc , a

See also:

• STONE
• STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
• STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
• STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
• STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
• STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
• STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
• STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
• STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)

stone, and Q4aepa, a

See also:

• SPHERE (Gr. vclsa?pa, a ball or globe)

sphere)  , the crust of the earth surrounding the earth's nucleus . The superficial soil, a layer of loose earthy material from a few feet to a few hundreds of feet in thickness, lies upon a zone of hard rock many thousands of feet in thickness but varying in character, and composed mainly of sandstones, shales, clays, limestones and metamorphic rocks . These two layers form the lithosphere . All the tectonic movements of the solid nucleus produce changes in the mobile lithosphere . Volcanic and seismic activity is manifested, mountains are folded, levels change, fresh surfaces are exposed to denudation, erosion and deposition . The crust is thus subject to constant change while retaining its more or less permanent character .