Abstract Continental interiors are vast, relatively undeformed, stable, and apparently monotonous areas which have long been among the most proliferous hydrocarbon producers in the world. In the past they were mostly explored with methods used in tectonically more complex foreland belts and exploration phylosophy has also been copied from the truly folded and compressed regions along continental margins. This volume outlines the importance of identifying similarities and differences between the phenomena observed in continental interiors, and attempts to quantify the variations with the hope of better understanding the subtle intracontinental sheared zones and better understanding the fabric of the continental interiors and their impact on global tectonic processes.