The geological process of the formation, uplift, and development of continents and continental platforms over geological time.
From Greek 'epeira' (continent, mainland) + '-geny' (origin, formation). This geological term was developed in the 19th century to describe continental-scale tectonics.
Epeirogeny is what makes the stable cores of continents stable—without it, we'd have no solid ground beneath our feet, and Earth would just be ocean and volcanic islands!
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