Juxtaposed terranes of highly varied tectonic history make up the contiguous U.S.: the tectonically active western U.S., the largely quiescent Archean and Proterozoic cratons of the central U.S., and the Phanerozoic orogen and rifted margin of the eastern U.S. The transitions between these regions are clearly observed with Sp converted wave images of the uppermost mantle. We use common conversion point stacked Sp waves recorded by EarthScope's Transportable Array and other permanent and temporary broadband stations to image the transition from a strong velocity decrease at the lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary (or LAB) beneath the western U.S. to deeper, less continuous features moving east that largely lie within the lithosphere. Only sparse, localized, weak phases are seen at LAB depths beneath the cratonic interior. Instead, we observe structures within the cratonic lithosphere that are most prominent within the Archean lithosphere of the Superior Craton. The transition from west to east is clearly revealed by cluster analysis, which also shows eastern U.S. mantle velocity gradients as more similar to the western U.S. than the ancient interior, particularly beneath New England and Virginia. In the western U.S., the observed strong LAB indicates a large enough velocity gradient (an average velocity drop of 10 ± 4.5% distributed over 30 ± 15 km) to imply that melt has ponded beneath the lithosphere.

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Converted wave imaging has revealed significant negative velocity gradients, often termed midlithospheric discontinuities, within the thick, high‐velocity mantle beneath cratons. In this study, we investigate the origins and implications of these structures with high‐resolution imaging of mantle discontinuities beneath the Archean Wyoming, Superior and Medicine Hat, and Proterozoic Yavapai and Trans‐Hudson terranes. Sp phases from 872 temporary and permanent broadband stations, including the EarthScope Transportable Array, were migrated into three‐dimensional common conversion point stacks. Four classes of discontinuities were observed. (1) A widespread, near‐flat negative velocity gradient occurs largely at 70–90 km depth beneath both Archean and Proterozoic cratons. This structure is consistent with the top of a frozen‐in layer of volatile‐rich melt. (2) Dipping negative velocity gradients are observed between 85 and 200 km depth. The clearest examples occur at the suture zones between accreted Paleoproterozoic Yavapai arc terranes and the Wyoming and Superior cratons. These interfaces could represent remnant subducting slabs, and together with eclogite in xenoliths, indicate that subduction‐related processes likely contributed to cratonic mantle growth. (3) Sporadic positive velocity gradients exist near the base of the lithospheric mantle, perhaps due to laterally variable compositional layering. (4) In contrast to off‐craton regions, clear Sp phases are typically not seen at lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary depths beneath Archean and Proterozoic terranes, consistent with a purely thermal contrast between cratonic mantle lithosphere and asthenosphere.