Lithosphere is a layer of the earth. It includes the crust of the earth and the topmost layer of the mantle. Underneath the lithosphere, there is another hotter layer of mantle known as asthenosphere. Lithosphere does not flow very commonly and remains rigid for long periods of time. It becomes thicker and thicker over time. When the plates of lithosphere move or slide slightly, the movement is described as plate tectonics. Basically, there are two types of lithospheric layers on the earth's crust, namely oceanic lithosphere and continental lithosphere. As it is clear in their names, oceanic lithosphere is associated with oceanic crust whereas continental lithosphere is associated with continental crust. The concept of lithosphere and its categorization was developed by a man named Barrell.
