LAYERS OF THE
EARTH
L Y M A N A L L Y N S C I E N C E S A T U R D A Y
P R E S E N T S
C R U S T M A N T L E
O U T E R C O R E
I N N E R C O R E
This is Earth's outermost layer, where we all live! It is the
thinnest layer. Land is made of the continental crust, which
is about 5 miles to 40 miles thick and composed mostly of
granite. The ocean floor is called the oceanic crust, which
is about 5 miles thick and composed of a rock called
basalt. In this image, the crust layer is
RED
, though
GREEN
and
BLUE
on the outside represent land and water.
Science Saturday is
made possible through
the generosity of Pfizer
Groton Labs
Below the crust is the mantle, which goes as deep as
1,795 miles below Earth's surface! The temperatures in
the mantle can range from 2,550°F in the upper part up
to 5,430°F as it gets deeper. The mantle is made up of
melted iron, minerals, and semi-solid rocks. This layer
makes up 85% of Earth's weight! In this image, the
mantle is
DARK ORANGE
.
The outer core of the Earth goes as deep as 3,200
miles below Earth's surface. This layer is so hot
(between 7,000°F and 10,000°F) that the iron and
nickel metals that make up the outer core are liquid!
The movement of the liquid metals creates our very
important magnetic field. In this image, the outer
core is
LIGHT ORANGE
.
The inner core is a hot metal ball at the center of the
Earth that is about 1,550 miles wide. Its temperatures
can be 9,000°F up to 10,500°F, which is as hot as
the sun! Even though it is hot enough for the iron and
nickel metals to melt, the inner core is actually solid
because it is under
so
much pressure - literally the
weight of the world! In this image, the inner core is
YELLOW
.
