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The tectonic plates of the lithosphere on Earth Earth cutaway from center to surface, the lithosphere comprising the crust and lithospheric mantle (detail not to scale). A lithosphere (from Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos) 'rocky' and σφαίρα (sphaíra) 'sphere') is the rigid, [1] outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite.
Plates in the crust of Earth. Earth's crust is its thick outer shell of rock, referring to less than one percent of the planet's radius and volume.It is the top component of the lithosphere, a solidified division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. [1]
Earth's outer core is a fluid layer about 2,260 km (1,400 mi) in height (i.e. distance from the highest point to the lowest point at the edge of the inner core) [36% of the Earth's radius, 15.6% of the volume] and composed of mostly iron and nickel that lies above Earth's solid inner core and below its mantle. [31]
The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the upper mantle are collectively known as the lithosphere, which is divided into independently moving tectonic plates. [132] Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low-viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides.
Earth's mantle is a layer of silicate rock between the crust and the outer core. It has a mass of 4.01 × 10 24 kg (8.84 × 10 24 lb) and makes up 67% of the mass of Earth. [ 1 ] It has a thickness of 2,900 kilometers (1,800 mi) [ 1 ] making up about 46% of Earth's radius and 84% of Earth's volume.
In Earth science, it is common to conceptualize the Earth's surface as consisting of several distinct layers, often referred to as spheres: the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere, this concept of spheres is a useful tool for understanding the Earth's surface and its various processes [30] these correspond to rocks ...
lithosphere The rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. The Earth's lithosphere is composed of the crust and the portion of the upper mantle that behaves elastically on time scales of up to thousands of years or more. lithotype Specific types of rock classified according to the standards of lithology. loess
Earth cutaway from core to crust, the lithosphere comprising the crust and lithospheric mantle (detail not to scale) The lithospheric mantle is the portion of the lithosphere within the mantle, as opposed to the crust. It is solid, and is the uppermost part of the mantle.