2.1.1 The Lithosphere (KQ1): Structure of the Earth

Middle School!!!  Probably the last time you saw something like this:

While you did learn about this a while ago...we need to refresh our knowledge on it and probably dig a little deeper that you did then.  Why?  Because if you want to know how to  survive sustainably within Earth's environment, you have to know how the world works...and the central to understanding that is to know how the Earth is structured.

Let's go from the inside out...

INNER CORE

• Center (~6400 km in) to ~5200 km within the Earth
• Solid iron, it is solid, even though it is very hot, due to the fact that there is so much pressure on it!

OUTER CORE

• 2900 km - 5800 km within the Earth
• Semi-solid iron, nickel, other trace elements, not enough pressure to fully solidify

MANTLE/UPPER MANTLE

• 70 km - 2900 km within the Earth
• Solid rocks, but moving due to temperature differences
• The temperature differences give that movement through something called convection

CRUST - 2 TYPES

• OCEANIC CRUST
• Thinner layer of crust underneath oceans (only 5-10 km thick)
• Very dense - filled with dense rock, like basalt
• CONTINENTAL CRUST
• Thicker layer of crust making up land mass (up to 70 km thick)
• Less dense than oceanic - less dense rock, like granite

And, that's pretty much what you need to know to get started.  Next, we will be taking a look at how this structure creates the environment in which we live and makes the world a truly dynamic system...always changing, always moving, impacting our lives in every possible way!