Structure of the earth

Topic layout

Page 1

The structure of the earth can be divided into three different layers- crust, mantle and core.

Earth's crust is the outermost layer of the planet. Lithosphere is the solid and brittle outer part of the
earth within the crust. Mantle lies between the heated core and the outer cooler crust. Asthenosphere
is the outer layer of the mantle. The inner core is super heated and it is divided into outer core and inner
core.

Page 2

The crust is the outermost solid part of the earth. Oceanic crust is thinner as compared to the
continental crust. The continental crust is thicker in the areas of major mountain systems.

Lithosphere, rigid, rocky outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the solid outermost layer of
the upper mantle. It extends to a depth of about 60 miles (100 km). It is broken into about a dozen
separate, rigid blocks, or plates.

Page 3

The mantle is denser than the crust region. The thickness of mantle is 10-200 km.

Lithosphere, rigid, rocky outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the solid outermost layer of
the upper mantle. It extends to a depth of about 60 miles (100 km). It is broken into about a dozen
separate, rigid blocks, or plates.

Page 4

The outer core layer is a fluid layer consisting of iron and nickel. The outer core begins approximately
2,889 km (1,795 mi) beneath Earth's surface at the core-mantle boundary and ends 5,150 km (3,200 mi)
beneath Earth's surface at the inner core boundary.

The inner core is a glowing hot ball of radius of about 1220 km. The temperature is equivalent to the
temperature of sun of about 5700K.