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Why does oceanic crust get older as you get closer to continents?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
The basalts of the ocean floors are created at the mid-ocean ridges and moves away from these ridges as new crust is created. thus as sea floor spreading occurs the older rock gets pushed away from the ridge towards the continents and the younger rock comes up beside the ridge.
good example is the Atlantic Ocean
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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What are the two types of crust on the earth?
There are two types of crust, and they are the oceanic crust and the continental crust. Oceanic crust is thinner yet more dense than continental crust, and continental crust is on average older than oceanic crust :)
What is the difference between the continental crust and the oceanic?
Continental crust is much older, granitic in nature, and less dense than oceanic crust which is composed of basaltic rock. Oceanic crust is in a constant state of creation and destruction through the processes of plate tectonics. Oceanic crust is also considerably less thick than continental crust.
What is the difference of continental crust and oceanic crust?
Two differences are that the oceanic crust is more dense than continental, and continental crust is composed mostly of granite, while oceanic is mostly basalt
What happens at a trench?
Older, colder, more dense oceanic crust is being subducted into the mantle.
What are the 3 major surface of the Earth?
The continental crust and the oceanic crust.Continental crust:When you look at the globe, you see that the surface of the earth consists of a lot of water (71%). The other 29% consists of land. You can divide this land into six big pieces, which are called continents. The different continents - arranged in decreasing order of size - are: Eurasia (Europe and Asia together), Africa, North-America, South-America, Antarctica and Australia. In the past the division of the continents was different (see plate tectonic). The earth's crust is the thickest below the continents, with an average of about 20 to 25 miles (30 to 40 km) and with a maximum of 45 miles (70 km). The continental crust is older than the oceanic crust, some rocks are 3.8 billion years old. The continental crust mainly consists of igneous rocks and is divided into two layers. The upper part mainly consists of granite rocks, while the lower part consists of basalt and diorite. Granite is lightly-colored, coarse-grain, magma. Diorite has the same composition, but it's scarcer than granite and is probably formed by impurities in the granite-magma. The average density of the continental crust is 2.7g/cm³.Oceanic crust:As the name already suggests, this crust is below the oceans. There, the crust is 4-7 miles (6-11 km) thick. The rocks of the oceanic crust are very young compared with the rocks of the continental crust. The rocks of the oceanic crust are not older than 200 million years. The material of which the oceanic crust consists is for the greater part tholeiitic basalt (this is basalt without olivine). Basalt has a dark, fine and gritty volcanic structure. It is formed out of very liquid lava, which cools off quickly. The grains are so small that they are only visible under a microscope. The average density of the oceanic crust is 3g/cm³.source: http://library.thinkquest.org/C003124/en/crust.htm
What is older the continents or the ocean floor?
On average, continents are older than ocean basins. Due to the action of plate tectonics, ocean crust is being formed and destroyed continuously. The oldest oceanic crust is about 200 million years old, whereas continents, which are less dense than oceanic crust and tend not to be subducted into the mantle, can be more than 3,000 million years old in places.
What is older the oceanic crust or the continental crust?
Continental crust is far older than oceanic crust.
What crust is older in years the continental or the oceanic?
Continental crust is far older than oceanic crust.
What evidence can prove that the ocean floor was moving?
Oceanic crust that was farther away from a mid-ocean ridge was older that crust closer to the ridge
What evidence proved the ocean floor was moving?
oceanic crust that was farther away from a mid-ocean ridge was older than crust closer to the ridge
Is oceanic crust near the mid-ocean ridge older thean oceanic crust farther away from the ridge?
Its oceanic crust
How do the ages of the rocks making up continents and those making up the ocean bottom differ?
Continental crust is normally much older than oceanic crust.
Is continental crust older than oceanic crust?
because
Is oceanic crust older than continental crust?
because
Why is the oceanic crust younger than cretaceous?
This is not true. There is quite some oceanic crust that is older than the Cretaceous still present and we even find small parts of very ancient oceanic crust on the continents as ophiolites. On average the oceanic crust might be of Cretaceous or even younger age because it is constantly recycled into the mantle in subduction zones and created on mid ocean ridges.
Why are the oldest parts of the earth's crust found on continents?
The older peices of the Earths crust are significantly lighter than the newer peices, (i.e. oceanic plates / basalt) forcing them to the surface.
What are the two types of crust on the earth?
There are two types of crust, and they are the oceanic crust and the continental crust. Oceanic crust is thinner yet more dense than continental crust, and continental crust is on average older than oceanic crust :)
