The Geosphere contains all of the cold, hard solid land of

the planet's crust (surface), the semi-solid land

underneath the crust, and the liquid land near the center
of the planet.

The hydrosphere contains all the solid, liquid, and

gaseous water of the planet. It ranges from 10 to 20
kilometers in thickness. The hydrosphere extends from
Earth's surface downward several kilometers into the
lithosphere and upward about 12 kilometers into the
atmosphere.

The biosphere contains all the planet's living things. This

sphere includes all of the microorganisms, plants, and
animals of Earth. Within the biosphere, living things form
ecological communities based on the physical
surroundings of an area. These communities are referred
to as biomes. Deserts, grasslands, and tropical
rainforests are three of the many types of biomes that
exist within the biosphere.

The atmosphere contains all the air in Earth's system. It

extends from less than 1 m below the planet's surface to
more than 10,000 km above the planet's surface. The
upper portion of the atmosphere protects the organisms
of the biosphere from the sun's ultraviolet radiation. It
also absorbs and emits heat. When air temperature in the
lower portion of this sphere changes, weather occurs. As

air in the lower atmosphere is heated or cooled, it moves

around the planet. The result can be as simple as a
breeze or as complex as a tornado.

The atmosphere is the gaseous blanket of air that

envelops, shields, and insulates Earth. The movements
and processes of the atmosphere create the changing
conditions that we know as weather and climate. The
solid Earthlandforms, rocks, soils, and minerals
makes up the lithosphere. The waters of the Earth system
oceans, lakes, rivers, and glaciersconstitute the
hydrosphere. The fourth major division, the biosphere, is
composed of all living things: people, other animals, and
plants. It is the nature of these four major subsystems
and the interactions among them that create and nurture
the conditions necessary for life on Earth. For example,
the hydrosphere provides the water supply for life on
Earth, including humans, and provides a home
environment for aquatic plants and animals. The
hydrosphere directly aects the lithosphere as water
moving in streams, waves, and currents shapes
landforms. It also influences the atmosphere through
evaporation, condensation, and the eects of ocean
temperatures on climate. The impact and intensity of
interactions among Earths subsystems are not identical
everywhere on our planet, and it is these variations that
lead to the geographic patterns of environmental
diversity. Many other examples of overlap exist among
these four major subsystems of Earth. Soil can be

examined as part of the lithosphere, the biosphere, or the

hydrosphere, because soils typically contain minerals,
organisms, and water (and gases as well). The water
stored in plants and animals is part of both the biosphere
and the hydrosphere, and the water in clouds is a
component of the atmosphere as well as the
hydrosphere. The fact that we cannot draw sharp
boundaries between these divisions underscores the
interrelatedness among various components of the Earth
system. However, like a machine, a computer, or the
human body, planet Earth is a system that functions well
only when all of its parts (and its subsystems) work
together harmoniously.

Humans (biosphere) built a dam out of rock materials

(geosphere). Water in the lake (hydrosphere) seeps into
the cli walls behind the dam, becoming groundwater
(geosphere), or evaporating into the air (atmosphere).
Humans (biosphere) harness energy from the water
(hydrosphere) by having it spin turbines (geosphere) to
produce electricity.