The Layers of the Earth

THE FOUR LAYERS

The Earth is composed of four different layers. The crust is the layer that you live on, and it is the most widely studied and understood. The mantle is much hotter and has the ability to flow. The outer

core and inner core

are even hotter with pressures so great you would be squeezed into a ball smaller than a marble if you were able to go to the center of the Earth!

THE INNER CORE

Its the deepest layer and a solid iron ball but it contains sulfur and nickel, plus smaller amounts of other elements, about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) in diameter. Its temperature & pressure are so high 5,000-7,000 degrees Celsius.

THE OUTER CORE

Above the inner core is the outer core, a shell of liquid iron. This layer is cooler but still very hot, perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 degrees Celsius. It is composed mostly of iron, plus substantial amounts of sulfur and nickel. It creates the Earth's magnetic field and is about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) thick.

THE MANTLE

The Mantle is the largest layer of the Earth at 2900 km thick. The middle mantle is composed of very hot dense rock that flows like asphalt under a heavy weight. The movement of the middle mantle (asthenosphere) is the reason that the crustal plates of the Earth move.

CONVECTION CURRENTS

The middle mantle "flows" because of convection currents. Convection currents are caused by the very hot material at the deepest part of the mantle rising, then cooling and sinking again --repeating this cycle over and over.

The Asthenosphere
The asthenosphere is the semi-rigid part of the middle mantle that flows like hot asphalt under a heavy weight.

THE CRUST
The Earth's Crust is like the skin of an apple. It is very thin in comparison to the other three layers. The crust is only about 3-5 miles (8 kilometers) thick under the oceans (oceanic crust) and about 25 miles (32 kilometers) thick under the continents (continental crust).

The crust is composed of two rocks. The continental crust averages about 30 km and 100 km deep. Mostly granite. The oceanic crust is about 5 km thick. Mostly basalt. Basalt is much denser than the granite. Because of this the less dense continents ride on the denser oceanic plates.

LAND (LITHOSPHERE)

Land is the earths crust layer with mostly consist of rocks This laye is also called Litosphere. The crust and the upper layer of the mantle together make up a zone of rigid, brittle rock called the Lithosphere. There are three kinds of land : Plain, highland, and mountain.

THE PLAIN
A coastal plain is a stretch of lowland along a sea coast which slopes toward the sea. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is a good example of a fertile and well populated coastal plain. It lies along the eastern shore of North America from Nova Scotia to Florida

HIGHLAND
Highland is usually rocky area which is uplifted by the force from inside the earth. A highland is different from a plain because its surface is high than those of its surrounding areas. An example of Highland is Dieng Highland, located in central java

MOUNTAIN

Unlike the plain and the highland, surface of a mountain isnt flat. It looks marvelous from its peak. The highest mountain in Indonesia is Mount Jaya Wijaya, about 5.080 m high

HOW IS A MOUNTAIN FORMED?

Many of the major mountain ranges are created when the Earths tectonic plates crash together. Because of the tremendous energies involved, the sides of the plates crumple like cars in a head-on collision. The mountain ranges are created because of those crumpling plates. The Indian subcontinent crashed into Asia 25 million years ago and created the Himalayan mountain range. In fact, the Himalayans are still growing! The next way that mountains are formed is along fault lines. Its called fault-block mountain. Blocks of Earth are uplifted and tilted over as two plates grind together. The uplifted part forms a mountain, and the lowered parts are filled in with eroded material. An example of this is the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California

Another way that mountains are formed is when magma from beneath the Earths surface is pushed up, but doesnt actually crack through. Its called Volcanic mountain.This bulge of magma eventually cools and hardens into hard rock, like granite. The layers of softer rock above the magma erode away and youre left with a large dome-shaped mountain. The final way to form a mountain is through erosion. If you have a high plateau, rivers will carve deep channels into the area. Eventually, you have mountains in between the river valleys.

ROCK

Rock is a solid substance which is composed by one or more materials. Mineral is natural substances which arent produce by plants, animals, or human beings. Some minerals are diamond, quartz, silicon, on, copper. These minerals can mix in various ways so that they form many kinds of rock.

HOW IGNEOUS ROCK IS FORMED

Igneous rocks are called fire rocks and are formed either underground or above ground. Underground, they are formed when the melted rock, called magma, deep within the earth becomes trapped in small pockets. As these pockets of magma cool slowly underground, the magma becomes igneous rocks. Igneous rocks are also formed when volcanoes erupt, causing the magma to rise above the earth's surface. When magma appears above the earth, it is called lava. Igneous rocks are formed as the lava cools above ground.

HOW SEDIMENTARY ROCK IS FORMED

For thousands, even millions of years, little pieces of our earth have been eroded--broken down and worn away by wind and water. These little bits of our earth are washed downstream where they settle to the bottom of the rivers, lakes, and oceans. Layer after layer of eroded earth is deposited on top of each. These layers are pressed down more and more through time, until the bottom layers slowly turn into rock.

HOW METAMORPHIC ROCK IS FORMED

Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have "morphed" into another kind of rock. These rocks were once igneous or sedimentary rocks. How do sedimentary and igneous rocks change? The rocks are under tons and tons of pressure, which fosters heat build up, and this causes them to change. If you exam metamorphic rock samples closely, you'll discover how flattened some of the grains in the rock are.

ROCK CYCLE

First, our journey begins in the mantle. Here we see some red hot magma that is being pushed up towards the crust. Some of this magma creeps into the cracks of the volcano; while, the rest is forced out of the top of the volcano. Once the magma is out of the volcano, it is called lava. The lava cools and forms igneous rocks. Then some of the igneous rocks roll down the mountains formed by the volcanoes and eventually end up in the ocean. As they roll, bits and pieces of the igneous rocks are broken and form sediments. Layer after layer of sediments are pressed and cemented together forming sedimentary rocks. Some of the sedimentary rocks on the very bottom get hot because of the pressure and change to metamorphic rock. When the metamorphic rock is buried deeper, it gets hotter and melts. Once again, it becomes magma and may eventually be pushed up and out of a volcano. The rock cycle begins all over again!

THE USES OF ROCK

Rocks usually use in our daily life as: Jewelry Buildings Roads & Bridges Aggregate Building Bricks and Blocks Machines & Tools Decorations