What are the main elements of the earth's crust? What does the earth's crust consist of?

Before we speak about what the earth's crust consists of, we can recall that they are supposedly part of the whole globe. Presumably - because a person has not yet been able to penetrate deeper than this earth's crust into the center of the earth. Even the entire thickness of the bark could only "pick".

Scientists suggest that they build hypotheses based on the laws of physics, chemistry and other sciences, and according to these data we have a definite picture of the structure of the entire planet, and also of what large elements the earth's crust consists of. The geography of grades 6-7 gives students exactly these theories in a lightened for immature minds.

Due to the small share of data and the large baggage of various laws, the models of planets of the solar system, and even stars far from us, are built in the same way. What follows from this? The main thing is that you have the absolute right to doubt all this.

Layers of Planet Earth

In addition to the fact that the earth's crust consists of layers, the entire earth also consists of three layers. A sort of layered culinary masterpiece. The first of these is the core; In it there is a solid part and a liquid part. It is the displacement of the liquid part in the nucleus that presumably creates the Earth's magnetic field. It's hot here - the temperature reaches values of up to 5000 degrees Celsius.

The second layer of the earth is the mantle. It connects the core and the earth's crust. The mantle also has several layers, namely three, and the upper, adjacent to the earth's crust, is magma. It has a direct relation to the question of what large elements the earth's crust consists of, since it is hypothetical that these very large elements "swim" on it. About its existence can be said with a more or less high probability, since during the eruption of volcanoes it is this hot substance that comes to the surface, destroying all the plant and animal that is on the slope of the volcano.

And, finally, the third layer of the earth is the earth's crust: the solid layer of the planet, which is located outside of the hot "entrails" of the Earth, according to which we are accustomed to walking, traveling and living in general. The thickness of the earth's crust, in comparison with the other two layers of the earth, is negligible, but nevertheless one can characterize what large elements the earth's crust consists of, and also to understand its composition.

Which layers are characteristic of the earth's crust. Its main chemical elements

The Earth's crust also consists of layers - there is a basaltic, granite and sedimentary. Interestingly, in the chemical composition of the earth's crust, 47% is oxygen.

The substance, in fact, being a gas, comes into contact with other elements and creates a hard crust. Other elements in this case are silicon, aluminum, iron and calcium; The remaining elements are present in the smallest shares.

Division into parts by thickness in different regions

It has already been said that the crust is much thinner than the lower mantle or core. If we approach the question of what large elements the earth's crust consists of, specifically with respect to thickness, it can be divided into oceanic and continental crust. These two parts differ considerably in thickness, and the oceanic one is about three times, and sometimes by a factor of ten (to speak of the average) is thinner than the continental one.

What is more different between the continental and oceanic crust

In addition, the zones of land and oceans differ in layers. In different sources indicate different data, we give one option. Thus, according to these data, the continental crust consists of three layers, among which there is a basaltic layer, a granite layer and a layer of sedimentary rocks. Plains of the terrestrial continental crust reach a thickness of 30-50 km, in the mountains these figures can rise to 70-80 kilometers. According to the same source, the oceanic crust consists of two layers. The granite ball falls, leaving only the upper sedimentary and lower basaltic. The thickness of the earth's crust in the region of the oceans is about 5 to 15 kilometers.

Simplified and averaged data as a basis for learning

These are the most general and simplified descriptions, because scientists are constantly working to study the characteristics of the surrounding world, and the latest data show that the crust in different places has a structure that is much more complicated than the usual standard crustal pattern that we study in school. Here many places in the continental crust, for example, there is another layer - diorite.

It is also interesting that these layers are not perfectly even, as schematically depicted in geographical atlases or other sources. Each layer can wedge into another, or be kneaded in some section. The ideal model of the earth scheme can not be in principle, for the same reason that volcanic eruptions occur: there, under the earth's crust, something is constantly in motion and has very high temperatures.

You can learn all this if you connect your life with the sciences of geology and geophysics. You can try to follow the scientific progress through scientific journals and articles. But without a certain luggage of knowledge, this can be a very difficult task, therefore, there is a certain basis that is taught in schools without any explanation that this is just an approximate model.

Presumably, the earth's crust consists of "pieces"

Scientists at the beginning of the 20th century put forward a theory that the earth's crust is not monolithic. Consequently, it is possible to know from which large elements the earth's crust consists according to this theory. It is assumed that the lithosphere is seven large and several small plates that slowly float on the surface of the magma. These movements create a catastrophic kind of phenomenon that occurs on our land with great intensity in certain places. There are areas between lithospheric plates, which have the name "seismic belts". It is in these areas the highest level of anxiety, if I may say so. The earthquake and all the ensuing consequences of this is one of the bright signs that demonstrates the movements of lithospheric plates.

Influence of displacements of lithospheric plates on formation of a relief

From what large elements the earth's crust consists, which mobile parts are more stable, and which are more mobile, throughout the entire creation of the terrestrial relief influenced its formation. The structure of the lithosphere and the characteristic of the seismic regime distribute the entire lithosphere to a stable area and mobile belts. The first are characterized by flat planes without huge depressions, elevations and similar relief variations. They are also called abyssal plains. In principle, this is the answer to the question of what large elements the earth's crust consists of, what stable root objects are formed. In the earth's crust, lithospheric plates lie at the base of all continents. The boundaries of these plates can easily be seen in the zones of formation of mountains, and also in the degree of intensity of earthquakes. The most active places in our planet, where there are earthquake foci and many active volcanoes, are the locations of Japan, the islands of Indonesia, the Aleutian Islands, the South American coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Continents are more than we used to think?

That is, simply to say, what the earth's crust consists of, so it is from pieces of the lithosphere that move more or less magmatically. And not always the boundaries of these "pieces" coincide with the boundaries of the continents. Technically, they often never coincide. In addition, we are used to hear that the oceans account for about 70% of the surface, and the continental component - only 30%. In geographical terms, it is, but that's interesting - in terms of geology, the continents account for about 40%. Ten percent of the continental crust is covered by marine and oceanic waters.