Earth Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Internal structure === {{Main|Internal structure of Earth}} {| class="wikitable sortable" style="float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 2em; text-align:center;" |+Geologic layers of Earth<ref name=pnas76_9_4192>{{cite journal |last1=Jordan |first1=T. H. |title=Structural geology of the Earth's interior |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |year=1979 |volume=76 |issue=9 |pages=4192β4200 |doi=10.1073/pnas.76.9.4192 |pmid=16592703 |pmc=411539 |bibcode=1979PNAS...76.4192J|doi-access=free }}</ref> | colspan="3" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;" |[[File:Earth-cutaway-schematic-english.svg|center|frameless]]Illustration of Earth's cutaway, not to scale |- !Depth<span style="font-size: smaller;"><ref name=robertson2001>{{cite web |last1=Robertson |first1=Eugene C. |date=26 July 2001 |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/interior/ |title=The Interior of the Earth |publisher=USGS |access-date=24 March 2007}}</ref><br />(km)</span> ! Component <br />layer name !Density<br /><span style="font-size: smaller;">(g/cm<sup>3</sup>)</span> |- |0β60 | style="text-align:left;" |[[Earth's lithosphere|Lithosphere]]<ref group="n">Locally varies between {{val|5|and|200|u=km}}.</ref> |β |- |0β35 | style="text-align:left;" |[[Earth's crust|Crust]]<ref group="n">Locally varies between {{val|5|and|70|u=km}}.</ref> |2.2β2.9 |- |35β660 | style="text-align:left;" |[[Upper mantle (Earth)|Upper mantle]] |3.4β4.4 |- |660β2890 | style="text-align:left;" |[[Lower mantle (Earth)|Lower mantle]] |3.4β5.6 |- |100β700 | style="text-align:left;" |[[Asthenosphere]] |β |- |2890β5100 | style="text-align:left;" |[[Earth's outer core|Outer core]] |9.9β12.2 |- |5100β6378 | style="text-align:left;" |[[Earth's inner core|Inner core]] |12.8β13.1 |} Earth's interior, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is divided into layers by their [[chemical]] or physical ([[Rheology|rheological]]) properties. The outer layer is a chemically distinct [[Silicate minerals|silicate]] solid crust, which is underlain by a highly [[viscous]] solid mantle. The crust is separated from the mantle by the [[MohoroviΔiΔ discontinuity]].<ref name="GeolSoc" /> The thickness of the crust varies from about {{convert|6|km|mi|sp=us}} under the oceans to {{convert|30|-|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} for the continents. The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the [[upper mantle]] are collectively known as the lithosphere, which is divided into independently moving tectonic plates.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/lithosphere/|title=Lithosphere|work=[[National Geographic]]|last1=Micalizio|first1=Caryl-Sue|last2=Evers|first2=Jeannie|date=20 May 2015|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref> Beneath the lithosphere is the [[asthenosphere]], a relatively low-viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides. Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle occur at {{convert|410|and|660|km|mi|abbr=on}} below the surface, spanning a [[Transition zone (Earth)|transition zone]] that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid [[outer core]] lies above a solid [[Earth's inner core|inner core]].<ref name=tanimoto_ahrens1995 /> Earth's inner core may be rotating at a slightly higher [[angular velocity]] than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.1β0.5Β° per year, although both somewhat higher and much lower rates have also been proposed.<ref name="Deuss_2014" /> The radius of the inner core is about one-fifth of that of Earth. {{anchor|Density}}Density increases with depth, as described in the table on the right. Among the Solar System's planetary-sized objects Earth is the [[List of solar system objects by size|object with the highest density]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page