Before talking about what the earth’s crust consists of, we can recall what is supposedly constituent parts of the entire globe. Presumably - because man has not yet been able to penetrate deeper than this crust into the center of the earth. Even the entire thickness of the crust was still only able to "pick."
Scientists suggest that they hypothesize 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, as well as of what large elements the earth's crust consists of. The geography of grades 6–7 gives pupils precisely these theories in a form facilitated for immature minds.
Due to the small fraction of data and the large baggage of various laws, models of the planets of the solar system, and even stars located far from us, are constructed in the same way. What follows from this? The main thing is that you have the absolute right to doubt all of this.
Layers of planet earth
Besides 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; it has a solid part and a liquid part. It is the movement of the liquid part in the core that supposedly creates the Earth's magnetic field. It's hot here - the temperature reaches values up to 5000 degrees Celsius.
The second layer of earth is the mantle. It connects the core and the earth's crust. The mantle also has several layers, namely three, and the top adjacent to the earth's crust is magma. It is directly related to the question of what large elements the earth’s crust consists of, since hypothetically these very large elements “float” on it. One can speak about its existence with a more or less high degree of probability, since during the eruption of volcanoes it is this hot substance that comes to the surface, destroying all plant and animal located on the slope of the volcano.
And, finally, the third layer of the earth is the earth’s crust: a solid layer of the planet that is outside of the hot “entrails” of the Earth, which we are used to walking, traveling and living in general. The thickness of the earth's crust, compared with the other two layers of the earth, is negligible, but nevertheless it is possible to characterize what large elements the earth's crust consists of, as well as to understand its composition.
What layers are characteristic of the earth's crust. Its main chemical elements
The earth's crust also consists of layers - there is basalt, granite and sedimentary. It is interesting that in the chemical composition of the earth's crust 47% is oxygen.
The substance, which is essentially a gas, enters into compounds 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 minute fractions.
Dividing into parts by thickness in different areas
It has already been said that the earth's 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, precisely in terms of thickness, we can divide it into oceanic and continental. These two parts vary significantly in thickness, with the oceanic about three times, and sometimes ten times (in terms of average) thinner than the mainland.
What else are the mainland and oceanic crust different from each other?
In addition, land and ocean zones vary in layers. Different sources indicate different data, we give one option. So, according to these data, the continental crust consists of three layers, among which there is a basalt layer, a granite layer and a layer of sedimentary rocks. The plains of the Earth’s mainland 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. A granite ball falls out, leaving only the upper sedimentary and lower basalt. The thickness of the earth's crust in the oceans is approximately 5 to 15 kilometers.
Simplified and averaged data as a basis for training
These are the most general and simplified descriptions, because scientists are constantly working on studying the features of the surrounding world, and recent data indicate that the earth’s crust in different places has a structure that is much more complicated than the usual standard scheme of the earth’s crust, which we study at school. Here in many places of the mainland 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 in other sources. Each layer can wedge into another, or mix in some section. An ideal model of the earth’s scheme cannot be, in principle, for the same reason that volcanic eruptions occur: there, under the earth’s crust, something is constantly moving and has very high temperatures.
All this can be learned if you connect your life with the sciences of geology and geophysics. You can try to follow scientific progress through scientific journals and articles. But without a certain amount of knowledge, this can turn out to 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 crust consists of "pieces"
As early as the beginning of the 20th century, scientists put forward the theory that the earth’s crust is not monolithic. Therefore, you can find out what large elements the earth's crust consists of according to this theory. It is assumed that the lithosphere is seven large and several small plates that slowly float on the surface of magma.
These movements create a catastrophic kind of phenomenon that occurs on our earth with great intensity in certain places. There are areas between lithospheric plates, which are called "seismic zones." It is in these areas that the highest level of anxiety, if I may say so. An earthquake and all the ensuing consequences of this is one of the brightest signs that demonstrates the
movements of lithospheric plates.The effect of lithospheric plate movements on the formation of relief
What large elements the earth's crust consists of, which moving parts are more stable, and which are more mobile, throughout the creation of the earth's relief influenced its formation. The structure of the lithosphere and the characteristic of the seismic regime distribute the entire lithosphere into a stable area and moving zones. The former are characterized by flat planes without huge depressions, hills 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, which are formed by stable indigenous objects. In the earth's crust, lithospheric plates are the basis of all continents. The boundaries of these plates are easily visible by the zones of mountain formation, as well as by the degree of intensity of earthquakes. The most active places in our planet, where there are centers of earthquakes 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 more than we used to think?
That is, to put it simply, what the earth’s crust consists of is pieces of the lithosphere that move to a greater or lesser extent along magma. And not always the borders of these "pieces" coincide with the borders of the continents. Technically, they often never match. In addition, we are used to hearing that the oceans account for about 70% of the surface, and the mainland component - only 30%. Geographically, it is, but what’s interesting is that, in terms of geology, about 40% fall on the continents. Ten percent of the continental crust is covered by sea and ocean waters.