Download Layers of the Earth

What’s Inside?
The Earth’s Core – Almost as hot as the surface of the sun (due to
radioactive decay) Escape of this inner heat drives geological
activity on the planet. It also has heat left over from Earth’s
formation.
•Inner Core
•Under immense pressure
•Solid metal mostly iron and nickel
•Very high density 13.5 g/ml
•Outer Core
•2270 km thick
•Liquid metal
•Responsible for
Earth’s magnetic
field
What’s causing the Earth’s
movements (push & pull)?
Minute Earth: Plate Tectonics
Push:
•
Pull:
•
•
The Mantle
•Lower mantle
•Rocky layer
•Most of earth’s volume
•Upper Mantle
•Hot weak rock that
is easily deformed
•10% is molten
•Consists of the
asthenosphere,
lithosphere and crust
Asthenosphere: Capable of flow
Lithosphere: rigid solid plates
Oceanic Crust: 5-12 km thick, mostly basalt
Continental Crust: 35 km thick, mostly granite,
Oceanic crust is more dense than continental
Temperature on the surface of the sun ~ 5700˚C
How do we know
about the earth’s
inner structure?
•Drilling only
explores into the
top 10-15 km of
the crust
•Seismic waves
can probe 6400
km though
Examine the paths
of earthquake data
(the epicenter
marks the location
of an earthquake)
•State 3 things
that you can tell
by this diagram
Try to label:
2 x convergent boundary
2 x divergent boundary
2 x (potential) Hawaii
PLATE BOUNDARIES
1. Convergent Boundary
•Ocean – Continent
•Ocean – Ocean
•Continent – Continent
Continent – Continent convergence
Ocean – Continent Convergence
PLATE BOUNDARIES
1. Convergent Boundary
•Ocean – Continent
•Ocean – Ocean
•Continent – Continent
Continent – Continent convergence
Ocean – Continent Convergence
List examples of locations for each
2. Divergent Boundary
3. Transform
Boundary
Where type of
boundary is
pictured?