LAyers of the Earth!
Whats inside the earth you wonder? Do you want to find out all about the layers? Well if you do, you have come to the right place! In all of the links you will look at for the layers of the earth, you will find LOTS of information to get a better understanding of them! Learn about the crust, mantle, outer core and the inner core. Learn Lots!!!
Crust
This is a picture to show you all the layers of the earth. The earth's crust is the thinest layer of the earth. It is about 5 km thick under the oceans, and it is about 60 km thick under the continents. The crust is made of basalt and granite type rocks. The crust is hard and rigid. The crust is the same temperature as the atmosphere. It might be as hot as 35℃ in the desert and below freezing in Antarctica.
Mantle
If you look at the picture and look at the mantle (the red part), the mantle is about 2900 km thick. It is subdivided into two different regions, the upper and the lower. The temperature of the mantle is around 500 to 900℃. Convection currents occur in the mantle.
The asthenosphere
The asthenosphere is the inner part of the mantle. It was first named in 1914. It is about 1600 degrees celsius. It is abot 50 to several hundreds miles thick. It is made of a plastic like rock that is solid but is able to flow.
the lithosphere
The lithosphere is the the outer part of the mantle. The lithosphere is only a few kilometres thick under the middle of the oceans. The temperature of the mantle under the surface is around 1300℃. Temperatures increase about 35℃ for every 1 km you move down through the lithosphere.
convection currents
Convection currents occur in the mantle. They are the asthenosphere and the lithosphere, both rotating through each other. The asthenosphere is the lower part of the mantle, and the lithosphere is the upper part of the mantle. The asthenosphere is hotter and less dense, and the lithosphere is the cooler and denser part. Because the hotter substanse is less dense, it is lighter and it rises up into the lithosphere. The cooler substance since it is more dense, it is heavier and it lowers down into the asthenosphere. When the cooler part heats up it rises again and become part of the lithosphere again. When the hotter part becomes cooler again, it rises back down in to the asthenosphere. This process keeps going on and on, rotating throughout the lithosphere and asthenosphere.
outer core
The outer core is the closest layer to the inner core. It is about 1,400 miles thick and it is made mostly of iron and nickel. Scientists know that we have a solid inner core surround by a liquid outer core.
inner core
The inner core of the earth is tested to be 1,220 miles thick. Its size is roughly 70% of the moon's size. The inner core is a solid ball, mostly made of iron and nickle.