1. LAYERS OF THE EARTH Chapter 8 Section 1

2. Landforms  Plateau- raised, flat land  Gorge- deep crack in the plateau  Mountains-  Plains- flatlands with very few trees  Valleys- the land between two mountains  Many landforms are hidden by water.

3. Earth’s layers  Atmosphere- the gases that we breathe, weather occurs here, and it acts as an insulator protecting Earth  Crust- Outermost solid layer Thickness varies Continental crust- soil and rocks we live on- 35-40 km Oceanic Crust- soil and rocks underneath the water- 6-11 km Thinnest layer  Mantle-Below the crust Thickest part of Earth Outer portion is solid like the crust and the inner portion is so hot that the rock can flow like a liquid

4. Earth’s layers  Core- Divided into the inner and outer core  Temperature s about 7,000 degrees Celsius  Outer core is liquid  Inner core is solid

5. Earth’s Crust  46.6 % is oxygen  27.7 % is silicon  The other elements are aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium and trace other elements

6. Earth’s plates  Lithosphere- the crust and the upper mantle  The lithosphere is broken into plates  There are about 20 tectonic plates that are all different sizes and shapes  They may be made of continental and oceanic crust