Earth’s continental crust is an interesting and complex phenomenon, composed of various materials and possessing an array of qualities. It plays a vital role in allowing us to live on the planet’s surface, but is it as mysterious and strange as some people suggest? Let’s find out!
Strange Formations and Structure
Earth’s continental crust is far from uniform, exhibiting strange structures, formations and compositions with no obvious pattern. For example:
- Continental Shields: Often large and circular in shape, continental shields are large masses of ancient rocks that form the cores of many continents.
- Islands: Some islands are continental crust in themselves, but many smaller islands are composed of pieces of other continents, having been “rafted” to their current locations by tectonic activity.
- Mountain Ranges: Many mountain ranges are composed of continental crust, created by collisions of the Earth’s tectonic plates.
Different Materials
The physical composition of Earth’s continental crust varies from place to place.
- Granite: One common type of rock is granite, which usually forms beneath the surface of the Earth.
- Basalt: This type of rock is usually found in the form of lava, having been brought to the surface by volcanic action.
- Clay: Earth’s continental crust typically contains significant amounts of clay, which forms on the surface of the land over time.
Conclusion
Earth’s continental crust is a truly weird and wonderful construct, exhibiting strange structures, formations and material compositions. While it is vitally important that we understand it sufficiently to ensure its continued stability, its full secrets are likely to remain a mystery for the foreseeable future. The Earth’s continental crust holds a wealth of mysteries and is one of the most bizarre natural formations on the planet. Although it is the outermost layer of Earth’s four major layers – the lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesospheric, and innermost core – it has a unique composition that is widely considered to be totally weird.
For starters, the continental crust is incredibly old, with some parts estimated at being up to four billion years old. By comparison, the oceanic crust, which is located along the ocean floors, generally only grows to depths of around ten kilometres and is much younger at about 200 million years old.
The continental crust is also significantly thicker than the oceanic crust and is made up of a range of granites, gneisses, basalt, and schists. This combination makes the continental crust much more resistant to the forces of erosion than the oceanic crust, which means it has maintained its general shape for such an immense period of time.
In addition, the continental crust is made up of much lighter material than the oceanic crust. This equates to a lower density, which scientists have classified as being ‘felsic’ in composition. This allows the continental crust to support much more of the Earth’s surface area, including a plethora of mountain ranges, rolling hills, basins, plateaus, and plains.
It isn’t just its composition and age that make the continental crust so weird; the crust also sits upon two distinct tectonic plates, which are believed to be slowly drifting apart. This rare phenomenon, known as continental rifting, is responsible for the formation of rift valleys, where huge faults occur and the Earth’s crust is slowly separated.
All in all, the Earth’s continental crust is a formation like no other, boasting an array of unique features that make it totally weird. Its age, composition, density, and ability to resist erosion make it a mystery that continues to baffle scientists to this day.