Knowra Earth's crust Earth's crust Earth’s outermost solid layer lies above the mantle and consists of continental and oceanic crust. It forms the surface on which continents and ocean floors rest.
Continental crust : The thick, relatively buoyant crust that underlies continents and nearby shallow continental margins. It forms the crust beneath continents and differs markedly from oceanic crust.
Plate tectonics : The theory that Earth's lithosphere is divided into moving plates whose interactions shape its surface. Its plate motions explain how crust forms, deforms, and moves across the planet.
Differentiation of Earth : The early separation of Earth’s materials into layers according to density and chemical affinity. This planetary sorting established the layered interior from which crust emerged.
Mineral exploration : The search for economically valuable concentrations of minerals using geological, geochemical, and geophysical evidence. Crustal rocks host the mineral deposits sought through exploration.
Mantle : The thick rocky layer between a planet’s crust and core; on Earth it is solid but flows over long periods. Unlike the crust, the mantle is much thicker and deforms over geological time.
Oceanic crust : The relatively thin, dense crust that underlies ocean basins and is continually created at mid-ocean ridges. It makes up the other major type of crust and is recycled into the mantle.
Mid-ocean ridge : A continuous underwater mountain system where tectonic plates diverge and new oceanic crust forms. Rising magma solidifies here to make new oceanic crust.
Hadean : The earliest interval of Earth’s history, beginning with the planet’s formation about 4.54 billion years ago. The first crust formed during this early, incompletely preserved interval.
Groundwater : Water stored beneath Earth's surface in pores and fractures of soil and rock. Fractures and permeable layers in the crust control groundwater storage and movement.
Earth's lithosphere : Earth’s rigid outer layer, consisting of the crust and the uppermost mantle. The crust is only the upper component of the lithosphere.
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