THE STRUCTURE OF OUR EARTH

Have you ever wondered what is inside our planet? We all know that our planet is round and we live on its surface but what goes on underneath our feet? By understanding the structure of our planet it will make it easier for us to understand the ways it is active. First of all lets have a look at this cross section which shows what our Earth would look like if a section was cut out of it.

We can see there are 4 different layers:

The inner core is in the centre. It is the hottest part of the Earth. It is solid and made up of metals called iron and nickel. Its temperature is about 5,500°C! That would be MUCH too hot for humans to live near!

The outer core surrounds the inner core. It is a liquid layer, also made up of iron and nickel.

The mantle is the widest section of the Earth. It is made up of semi-molten rock called magma. Semi-molten means that the rock is soft and beginning to melt. In the upper parts of the mantle the rock is hard.

The crust is the outer layer of the earth. It is a thin layer and this is the layer we live on. There are 2 different types of crust:
Continental crust which carries land
Oceanic crust which carries water

Our next entry will have a look at the crust in more detail and explain that the ground we walk on is actually moving beneath our feet!