Describe the crust of the Earth in detail Related: Chapter Notes - In...
- The crust of the Earth is composed of a great variety of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.
- The crust is underlain by the mantle.
- The upper part of the mantle is composed mostly of peridotite, a rock denser than rocks common in the overlying crust.
- The boundary between the crust and mantle is conventionally placed at the Mohorovicic discontinuity, a boundary defined by a contrast in seismic velocity.
- Earth's crust occupies less than 1% of Earth's volume.
- The oceanic crust of the Earth is different from its continental crust.
- The oceanic crust is 5 km (3 mi) to 10 km (6 mi) thick and is composed primarily of basalt, diabase, and gabbro.
- The continental crust is typically from 30 km (20 mi) to 50 km (30 mi) thick, and it is mostly composed of less dense rocks than is the oceanic crust.
- Some of these less dense rocks, such as granite, are common in the continental crust but rare to absent in the oceanic crust.