THE EARTHS CRUST

• The crust is a layer of solid rock that includes both dry land and the ocean floor. On the crust you can find rocks and mountains.
• 5-70 km
• Paper-thin skin of an onion.
• The crust beneath the ocean is called the oceanic crust. It consists mostly of rocks such as basalt.
• Basalt is dark rock with a fine texture.

CONTINENTAL CRUST

• The crust that forms the continents, consists mainly of rocks such as granite.
• Granite- a rock that usually is a light color and has a coarse texture.
• Its made up of rock that is very hot, but solid.
• Scientists divided the mantle into layers based on the physical characteristics of those layers.
• 3000 kilometers thick

LAYERS OF THE MANTLE

• Lithosphere- Very similar to the crust. In greek lithos means “stones”
• The uppermost part of the mantle and the crust together form a rigid layer called the lithosphere.
• Asthenosphere- The part of the mantle just beneath the lithosphere is less rigid than the rock above.
• In greek asthenes means ”weak“
• Although the asthenosphere is softer than the rest of the mantle, its still solid.

LOWER MANTLE

• Lower Mantle- Beneath the asthenosphere, the mantle is solid.
• This solid material extends all the way to Earth's core.

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