Interior of Earth & Various Zones of Earth

INTERIOR & VARIOUS ZONES OF EARTH

Earth's Internal Structure

The Earth's interior is characterized by a gradual increase in temperature,

pressure and density with depth.

The Earth consists of three major regions marked by differences in chemical

composition.

Crust:

It is rigid outermost think layer of the Earth like a skin of an orange. It is

composed of two layers:

1. continental (SIAL)
It is the upper layer (silica + aluminum) Averages 35km thick, more under
mountain ranges. Overall composition is similar to granite. It has Low
density (2-3gm/cm²)
2. oceanic (SIMA)
It is the lower layer (Silica + magnesium) about 5 km thick. It has Basalt
(igneous) composition and higher density (3gm/cm²).

The Solid portion of crust is known as lithosphere and the Liquid portion is
hydrosphere. Earth’s crust contains all the minerals used by human beings.

Mantle:

It is the intermediate zone of earth extends up to 2885 km makes up nearly 80

percent of the Earth's total volume. It has different temperatures at different
depths. The mantle is able to flow (plastically) at very slow rates.

Izhar Mithal Jiskani (http://miningmuet.webs.com)

Interior of Earth & Various Zones of Earth

Core:

It is the inner most zone of earth, divided into two portions Outer core and Inner
Core. The outer core is liquid which is capable of flow and source of the Earth's
magnetic field. Both the inner and outer cores have a nickel-iron metallic
composition. The pressure in the inner core is greater than in the outer core.
There is no major chemical difference between the outer and inner core.
Temperature in core ranges from 2000OC – 4000OC and Pressure is 20,000 tons
per square inch.

The End 

Izhar Mithal Jiskani (http://miningmuet.webs.com)