Lithospheric plates are regions of Earth's crust and upper mantle that are fractured into plates that move across a deeper plasticine mantle.

Earth's crust is fractured into 13 major and approximately 20 total lithospheric plates. Each lithospheric plate is composed of a layer of oceanic crust or continental crust superficial to an outer layer of the mantle. Containing both crust and the upper region of the mantle, lithospheric plates are generally considered to be approximately 60 mi (100 km) thick. Although containing only continental crust or oceanic crust in any one cross-section, lithospheric plates may contain various sections that exclusively contain either oceanic crust or continental crust and therefore lithospheric plates may contain various combinations of oceanic and continental crust. Lithospheric plates move on top of the asthenosphere (the outer plastically deforming region of Earth's mantle).

The term "plate" is deceptive. Remembering that Earth is an oblate sphere, lithospheric plates...