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  • Word comparison: lithosphere vs. asthenosphere

lithosphere vs. asthenosphere

lithosphere

noun

Geology.
  1. the solid portion of the earth ( atmosphere, hydrosphere ).
  2. the crust and upper mantle of the earth.

asthenosphere

noun

Geology.
  1. the region below the lithosphere, variously estimated as being from fifty to several hundred miles (eighty-five to several hundred kilometers) thick, in which the rock is less rigid than that above and below but rigid enough to transmit transverse seismic waves.