Lithophile Elements

chemical elements of rock. They include 55 elements of the periodic system: O, Si, Al, Ti, B, C, all the alkali and alkaline-earth metals, the halogens, and many of the rare elements. The lithophile elements make up about 93 percent of the mass of the entire crust of the earth and about 97 percent of the salt content of the ocean waters—products of rock weathering dissolved in water. According to the classification of the Soviet geochemist A. P. Vinogradov, all the atmophile elements are also included among the lithophile elements.