We report the development of a new technique (magnetic gradiometry) for satellite‐based remote sensing of the lithosphere. The measurements reported here represent the first systematic measurements of lithospheric magnetic field gradients, and were collected from a spinning spacecraft. The three‐satellite ST‐5 mission collected vector magnetic field observations at 300–800+ km altitudes over mid and high‐northern latitudes in 2006. Away from the auroral oval, and over the continents, the gradients of the low altitude (<400 km) total anomaly field are dominated by lithospheric magnetic fields. Using a seismic starting model, and magnetic field observations from ST‐5 and other recent satellite missions, we demonstrate how these techniques can be used to improve our knowledge of the processes involved in the thickened crust of the Colorado Plateau and the Sierra Madre Occidental.