What are the characteristics of continental and oceanic crust?

It is the solid rock layer upon which we live. It is either continental or oceanic. Continental crust is typically 30-50 km thick, whilst oceanic crust is only 5-10 km thick. Oceanic crust is denser, can be subducted and is constantly being destroyed and replaced at plate boundaries.

What is a characteristic of oceanic crust?

Oceanic crust is thinner and more dense than continental crust. This is because it has been compressed by the weight of the oceans it carries above it. It is also much younger than Continental crust, as it is usually less than 200 million years old.

What are the characteristics of continental crust?

Continental crust is broadly granitic in composition and, with a density of about 2.7 grams per cubic cm, is somewhat lighter than oceanic crust, which is basaltic (i.e., richer in iron and magnesium than granite) in composition and has a density of about 2.9 to 3 grams per cubic cm.

What are 3 differences between oceanic and continental crust?

What are three differences between continental and oceanic crust? Continental crust is low in density whereas oceanic crust has a higher density. Continental crust is thicker, on the contrary, the oceanic crust is thinner. Continental crust floats on magma freely but oceanic crust floats on magma scarcely.

What are the differences between the continental crust and the oceanic crust?

1. The oceanic crust is made up of basalt while the continental crust is made up of granite. 2. The oceanic crust is thinner while the continental crust is much thicker.

What are the characteristics of ocean?

An ocean is a body of saline water that composes much of a planets hydrosphere. Salinity is a main defining component of the ocean, and it is the amount of dissolved solid material in the water. Although there are many dissolved salts in seawater, sodium chloride (commonly known as salt) is the most abundant.

What 4 characteristics describe the oceanic crust as it moves away from the mid ocean ridge?

Oceanic crust slowly moves away from mid-ocean ridges and sites of seafloor spreading. As it moves, it becomes cooler, more dense, and more thick. Eventually, older oceanic crust encounters a tectonic boundary with continental crust. In some cases, oceanic crust encounters an active plate margin.

Is oceanic crust denser than continental?

Oceanic crust is generally composed of dark-colored rocks called basalt and gabbro. It is thinner and denser than continental crust, which is made of light-colored rocks called andesite and granite.

What type of rock makes up the continental crust?

granites

Continental crust is mostly composed of different types of granites. Geologists often refer to the rocks of the continental crust as “sial.” Sial stands for silicate and aluminum, the most abundant minerals in continental crust.

Why is the oceanic crust younger than the continental crust?

The oceanic crust is younger than the continental crust, largely because of subduction. The oceanic crust can be destroyed or recycled by divergent plate boundaries and convergent boundaries through which subduction occurs. Moreover, when two tectonic plates collide, they push the oceanic crust to the mantle.

What is the difference between continental and oceanic crust quizlet?

The oceanic crust is thinner and denser, and is similar in composition to basalt (Si, O, Ca, Mg, and Fe). The continental crust is thicker and less dense, and is similar to granite in composition (Si, O, Al, K, and Na). The mantle is made of magnesium, iron and silicon.

Why does the oceanic crust sink?

It is due to the process of subduction; oceanic crust tends to get colder and denser with age as it spreads off the mid-ocean ridges. It gets so dense, that it sinks in the upper mantle (subduction).

What is the reason why oceanic crust is no older than this?

Why is the oldest oceanic crust? Most oceanic crust is less than 200 million years old, because it is typically recycled back into the Earth’s mantle at subduction zones (where two tectonic plates collide).

What are 5 facts about continental crust?

The crust is separated into two layers, the continental crust and the oceanic crust. The continental crust forms one-third of the Earth’s surface, and makes up all of the dry land found on Earth. The continental crust varies in thickness between 6 and 43 miles (25 and 70km).

What happens when oceanic crust collides with continental crust?

When an oceanic and a continental plate collide, eventually the oceanic plate is subducted under the continental plate due to the high density of the oceanic plate. Once again a benioff zone forms where there are shallow intermediate and deep focus earthquakes.

What is the temperature of oceanic crust?

The temperature of the crust increases with depth, reaching values typically in the range from about 500 °C (900 °F) to 1,000 °C (1,800 °F) at the boundary with the underlying mantle.

Is the oceanic crust solid?

This is the outside layer of the earth and is made of solid rock, mostly basalt and granite. There are two types of crust; oceanic and continental. Oceanic crust is denser and thinner and mainly com​posed of basalt.
The core.

Is oceanic or continental thicker?

Continental crust is also less dense than oceanic crust, though it is considerably thicker; mostly 35 to 40 km versus the average oceanic thickness of around 7-10 km. About 40% of the Earth’s surface is now underlain by continental crust.

Why continental and oceanic crusts differ in their density?

Because continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust it floats higher on the mantle, just like a piece of Styrofoam floats higher on water than a piece of wood does. The mantle, oceanic crust and continental crust have different densities because they are made of different kinds of rock with different densities.

What is a continental crust?

Continental crust is the layer of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks that forms the geological continents and the areas of shallow seabed close to their shores, known as continental shelves.