Our understanding of the flow properties of deforming rocks in the Earth's lithosphere is mainly based on theoretical work and on the extrapolation of high-strain-rate experimental data to the low strain rates of rock deformation in nature. The geometry of structures in naturally deformed rocks can be an additional source of information on the rheology of the lithosphere. Flow experiments show that the geometry of a mantle of recrystallised material around a rigid object can be used to distinguish between a linear or power-law relation of differential stress and strain rate in strongly deformed rocks such as mylonites. This means that it is possible to use geometrical patterns in deformed rocks to constrain aspects of the rheology and to check the applicability of theoretical models and the extrapolation of laboratory data on creep in rocks to nature.