LITHOSPHERE

n. earth's crust and mantle (Geology)

The lithosphere (IPA: [ˈlɪθ.ə.sfiɹ], from the Greek for "rocky" sphere) is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet. On the Earth, the lithosphere includes the crust and the uppermost mantle which is joined to the crust across the Mohorovičić discontinuity. Lithosphere is underlain by asthenosphere, the weaker, hotter, and deeper part of the upper mantle. The base of the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary corresponds approximately to the depth of the melting temperature in the mantle. As the conductively cooling surface layer of the Earth's convection system, the lithosphere thickens over time. It is fragmented into tectonic plates (shown in the picture), which move independently relative to one another. This movement of lithospheric plates is described as plate tectonics.
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Noun
1. the solid part of the earth consisting of the crust and outer mantle
(synonym) geosphere
(hypernym) layer
(part-holonym) Earth, world, globe
(part-meronym) crust, Earth's crust

n. lithosphere, earth's crust and mantle (Geology)

A layer of solid, brittle rock comprising the outer 100 kilometers of the Earth, encompassing both the crust and the outer most part of the upper mantle. See also asthenosphere.