一The Earth comprises three principal layers: the dense, iron-rich core, the mantle made of silicate (硅酸盐) that are semi-molten at depth, and the thin, solid-surface crust There are two kinds of crust, a lower and denser oceanic crust and an upper,lighter continental crust found over only about 40 percent of the Earth's surface
The rocks of the crust are of very different ages
Some continental rocks are over 3,000 million years old, while those of the ocean floor are less than 200 million years old
The crusts and the top, solid part of the mantle, totaling about 70 to 100 kilometers in thickness, at present appear to consist of about 15 rigid plates, 7 of which are very large
These plates move over the semi-molten lower mantleto produce all of the major topographical(地形学旳)features