Tectonic block

A tectonic block is a part of the Earth's crust that can be treated as a solid rigid crustal block or lithospheric section. A tectonic block may be bounded by faults. It may move from one place to another because of a tectonic shift, and they may also be rotated. A tectonic block may have a proper name for example, the Muness Phyllite Block (which is located in Unst and Uyea in Scotland),^[1] or the South China Block.^[2]

Early use of the term tectonic block referred to the blocks of rock on either side of a fault.^[3]

Continental regions may be subdivided into tectonic blocks which are mapped in order to determine earthquake risk.^[4]