Earth's crust
E495143
Earth's crust is the planet's thin, outermost solid layer composed of continental and oceanic plates that forms the surface on which we live and where geological processes like mountain building and volcanism occur.
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
geological layer
ⓘ
outer shell of Earth ⓘ |
| averageDensity | about 2.7 to 3.0 grams per cubic centimeter ⓘ |
| averageThickness | about 30 kilometers ⓘ |
| composition |
igneous rocks
ⓘ
metamorphic rocks ⓘ sedimentary rocks ⓘ silicate minerals ⓘ solid rock ⓘ |
| continentalCrustAgeRange | up to about 4 billion years ⓘ |
| continentalCrustAverageThickness | about 35 to 40 kilometers ⓘ |
| continentalCrustMaximumThickness | about 70 kilometers beneath major mountain ranges ⓘ |
| densityTrend | oceanic crust is denser than continental crust ⓘ |
| forms | Earth's solid surface ⓘ |
| hasPart |
continental crust
ⓘ
oceanic crust ⓘ |
| innerBoundary | Mohorovičić discontinuity NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| interactsWith | tectonic plates ⓘ |
| isDividedInto | tectonic plates ⓘ |
| oceanicCrustAgeRange | 0 to about 200 million years ⓘ |
| oceanicCrustAverageThickness | about 7 kilometers ⓘ |
| olderComponent | continental crust ⓘ |
| outerBoundary | Earth's surface ⓘ |
| overlies | Earth's mantle ⓘ |
| partOf | Earth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| process |
continental drift
ⓘ
earthquakes ⓘ mountain building ⓘ plate tectonics ⓘ volcanism ⓘ |
| richIn |
aluminum
ⓘ
calcium ⓘ iron ⓘ magnesium ⓘ oxygen ⓘ potassium ⓘ silicon ⓘ sodium ⓘ |
| role |
contains most accessible mineral resources
ⓘ
hosts most of Earth's biosphere ⓘ stores significant amounts of carbon in rocks and sediments ⓘ |
| separatedFrom | Earth's mantle by the Mohorovičić discontinuity ⓘ |
| studiedBy |
geology
ⓘ
seismology ⓘ |
| supports |
continents
ⓘ
ocean basins ⓘ |
| temperatureRange | about ambient surface temperature to roughly 400–1000 °C at its base ⓘ |
| thicknessRange | about 5 to 70 kilometers ⓘ |
| underlies |
continents
ⓘ
oceans ⓘ |
| youngerComponent | oceanic crust ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.