Composition of the Earth

Earth Layers
The earth isnt a solid sphere
It is made of 4 major layers
- Crust
- Mantle
- Outer core
- Inner core

Crust
outer skin
Continental crust is

about 70km thick

Oceanic crust is
about 10 km thick
(this is why so much
ocean drilling occurs)

Mantle
About 2900 km thick
Made of mostly Iron, Silicon and Magnesium
Asthenosphere is

the upper part of

the mantle
Very viscous

Outer Core
Approx 2100 km thick
Made of molten Iron and Nickel

Inner Core
Approx 1300 km

radius
Solid ball of Iron and
Nickel
Extremely hot
Stays a solid due to
very high pressure

Quick check
T/F all layers are made of solid rock
T/F thickest layer is the mantle
T/F Inner core is made of liquid Iron

and nickel
T/F Outer core is made of silicon and
oxygen

Answers
F all layers are made of solid rock
T thickest layer is the mantle
F Inner core is made of liquid Iron and

nickel
F Outer core is made of silicon and
oxygen

Plate Movement
Caused by convection currents in the

mantle

Definitions
Trench steep walled valley where 2

plates meet
Slab pull plates subducting pulls the
rest of the plate with it
Ridge Push new forming rock pushes
plate away from spreading centre

Definitions
Spreading Centre area where plates

move apart from each other

Rift Valley a spreading centre that

occurs on land

Types of Movement

Collisions at Plate Boundaries

Divergent
- Pulling apart

(spreading)
- New rock is often
formed here

Collisions at Plate Boundaries

Convergent
- Plates come together
- Often subduction occurs (one slides

under the other)

**More on this in a moment**

Collisions at Plate Boundaries

Transform
- Plates slide past each other
- Produces earthquakes
- Eg. San Andreas Fault

Convergent Boundaries
There are three different types of

convergent boundaries
These depend on what type of plates
come together
Oceanic-continental
Oceanic-oceanic
Continental-continental

Oceanic-Continental
The oceanic plate subducts beneath the

continental plate
Eg. Coastal BC
The Juan de Fuca (oceanic) plate
subducts under the North American
(continental) plate
This causes coastal mountains and land
volcanoes

Oceanic-Oceanic
One plate will subduct beneath another
Volcanic activity and possible islands

form

Continental-Continental
Plates are not likely to subduct
They push on each other and form

mountains