What is the Earth’s Crust?
The Earth’s Crust is the Outer Layer of the planet’s core. Lying above the mantle, the Crust forms part of the lithosphere and consists of tectonic plates that give a platform to all land on Earth.
Formed around 4.6 billion years ago. Earth’s crust solidified just after the planet itself did. Initially, it was heavily impacted by asteroid strikes and was very thin.
It makes up around 1% of the Earth’s volume.
What is the Earth’s Crust made out of?
There are two types of crust: Oceanic, which lies under the land of Earth, and Continental, which lies underneath the sea.
The Continental crust is the thicker of the two, at 30 to 50km thick, whereas the Oceanic is only around 5 to 10km thick.
Both crusts comprise 90% igneous rock and contain sedimentary and metamorphic rock. However, the Continental crust has less dense rocks than its counterpart.
Top 6 Facts about the Earth’s Crust
- The oldest minerals found on Earth, zircons, are thought to have dated from approximately 4.3 billion years ago.
- Beneath the crust, temperatures can reach up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
- Part of the Oceanic crust consists of lava that had erupted from a volcano.
- The overall temperature is around 22 degrees Celsius.
- The Continental crust is mountainous and can rise to 70km high.
- Earthquakes are caused by hotter mantle parts rising through gaps in the Earth’s crust.
