What are the two types of crustal material?

What are the two types of crustal material?

Earth’s crust is divided into two types: oceanic crust and continental crust. The transition zone between these two types of crust is sometimes called the Conrad discontinuity. Silicates (mostly compounds made of silicon and oxygen) are the most abundant rocks and minerals in both oceanic and continental crust.

What two types of plate boundaries are dominant on Earth?

There are three main types of plate boundaries:

• Convergent boundaries: where two plates are colliding. Subduction zones occur when one or both of the tectonic plates are composed of oceanic crust.
• Divergent boundaries – where two plates are moving apart.
• Transform boundaries – where plates slide passed each other.

What are the two types of crust and what are their properties characteristics?

Summary

• Oceanic crust is thinner and denser than continental crust.
• Oceanic crust is more mafic, continental crust is more felsic.
• Crust is very thin relative to Earth’s radius.

Why is it important to identify the two types of crust?

Explanation: The thin oceanic crust is composed of primarily of basalt, and the thicker continental crust is composed primarily of granite. The low density of the thick continental crust allows it to “float” in high relief on the much higher density mantlebelow.

What are the different types of lithosphere?

There are two types of lithosphere: oceanic lithosphere and continental lithosphere. Oceanic lithosphere is associated with oceanic crust, and is slightly denser than continental lithosphere.

What are two type of rock the oceanic crust?

Oceanic crust is largely made up of basalt, diabase, gabbro and other volcanic rocks. Continental crust is composed largely of granitic rocks that are of low-density. Why are there different rock types found in the continental and oceanic crust?

What are the two types of igneous rocks that are found primarily in oceanic crust?

The continental crust is composed primarily of sedimentary rocks resting on a crystalline basement formed of a great variety of metamorphic and igneous rocks, including granulite and granite. Oceanic crust is composed primarily of basalt and gabbro. Both continental and oceanic crust rest on peridotite of the mantle.

What does plate boundary show the sliding of two plates?

A transform plate boundary occurs when two plates slide past each other, horizontally. A well-known transform plate boundary is the San Andreas Fault, which is responsible for many of California’s earthquakes. This three-dimensional image shows a map of Earth’s tectonic plates.

What are the 2 types of earth’s crust which type is the most dense?

Oceanic crust is thinner and denser than continental crust. Oceanic crust is darker in color and denser (more mafic). Continental crust is lighter in color and density (more felsic).

Why is important to identify the two types of crust?

TYPES OF CRUSTAL MATERIAL It is important to keep in mind when discussing plate tectonics that the crust of the Earth is composed of two basic types of crustal material. We refer to these as continental crust and oceanic crust.

What kind of rock makes up the continental crust?

Continental crust consists mostly of granite, a less dense, lighter in color, igneous rock. Differences in chemical composition between the two types of rocks accounts for the different appearance and density.

What makes up the crust of the Earth?

Earth’s Crust. There are two different types of crust: thin oceanic crust that underlies the ocean basins, and thicker continental crust that underlies the continents. These two different types of crust are made up of different types of rock.

How are intermediate rocks formed in the crust?

Rocks that are intermediate in composition between these two groups are also called (surprise!) the intermediate rocks. All of these minerals form through crystallization from silicate melts in the crust and mantle. I f we look at the composition of the 9 rock forming minerals, we see that they all belong into the silicate group of minerals.