The Earth is composed of different layers along its 12,700 kilometers in diameter. All life on the planet is supported by its outermost layer, the lithosphere. Its name comes from the Greek: “lithos” means stone, rock, which already gives a hint of what it is.
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The lithosphere is part of a classification that divides the layers of the planet according to its physical state. As its name indicates, it is formed by rocks and constitutes the first solid layer of the planet, from the outside inwards.
You may have heard of the Earth’s crust, another way of classifying the outermost layer of the Earth. It is part of another model, the geochemical model, which divides the planet into crust, mantle and core. The lithosphere encompasses the crust and the most solid part of the Earth’s mantle, understand in detail what it is and how it formed.
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Formation and characteristics
Our planet has not been the same since its formation, around 4.5 billion years ago, and it is constantly changing. In the beginning, the Earth was an incandescent sphere, which cooled over time. In this process, its outermost part solidified, generating the lithosphere.
The lithosphere has a variable depth, which is in the range of 5 to 100 kilometers. Its composition is minerals and rocks, found in three forms: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.
It is not perfectly continuous, the lithosphere is divided into huge blocks that correspond to tectonic plates. Therefore, it is always in motion, in addition to being subject to volcanic activity. These two factors provide a constant exchange of material with the bottom layer.
What are the other layers?
Below the lithosphere we find the asthenosphere, the mesosphere and finally the endosphere. The asthenosphere is the remainder of the mantle, which has a viscous behavior, and extends to about 700 kilometers deep. Beyond it is a solid transition zone before the core, the mesosphere.
Finally, the endosphere is the innermost layer of the planet and corresponds to its core. It begins at a depth of 2,900 kilometers and is initially liquid, becoming solid at about 5,000 kilometers.
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