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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.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoActually it's the other way around. The oceanic crust ( ocean floor) is much younger than the continental crust (Continents). The continental crust started forming around 3.5 billion years ago... The oldest oceanic crust on the other hand is 180 million years.
Wiki User
∙ 15y agoContinents are much older than ocean basins.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThe continents are older by far.
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How would the age of the oldest rocks on the continents compare with the age of the oldest rocks on the seafloor if the rock on the continents is continually formed but not removed?
The oldest rocks on the continents would be much older than the rocks on the sea floor because the rocks on the continents are not being removed unlike the rocks on the sea floor that are made by the mid-ocean ridge are being removed by deep ocean trenches. this prossess that is occuring on the sea floor is called sea floor spreading. evidence of this is the Pacific ocean shrinking and the Atlantic ocean growing.
In which layer of the Earth is the ocean floor?
The crust contains the ocean floor and also the continents on Earth.
What is things rest upon crustal plates?
The continents and the ocean floor rest upon the plates.
What makes the continent and the ocean floor unstable?
The continents and ocean floor are unstable because the plates of the lithosphere move. When the plate move, they cause the continents and ocean floor to move.
Why are basalt and granite important igneous rock?
As it turns out, most of the ocean floor is basalt, and most of the continents are granite.
What is composed of the continents and the oceans floor?
Earth's crust is composed of the continents and the ocean floor.
How would the age of the oldest rocks on the continents compare with the age of the oldest rocks on the seafloor if the rock on the continents is continually formed but not removed?
The oldest rocks on the continents would be much older than the rocks on the sea floor because the rocks on the continents are not being removed unlike the rocks on the sea floor that are made by the mid-ocean ridge are being removed by deep ocean trenches. this prossess that is occuring on the sea floor is called sea floor spreading. evidence of this is the Pacific ocean shrinking and the Atlantic ocean growing.
The topography of the ocean floor?
Is a diverse as that of the continents
In which layer of the Earth is the ocean floor?
The crust contains the ocean floor and also the continents on Earth.
Can plated carry continents or parts of the ocean floor but not both?
Tectonic Plates can't carry both ocean floor and continents on the same plate.
What is things rest upon crustal plates?
The continents and the ocean floor rest upon the plates.
What makes the continent and the ocean floor unstable?
The continents and ocean floor are unstable because the plates of the lithosphere move. When the plate move, they cause the continents and ocean floor to move.
Do continents reach the bottom of the ocean?
They do touch the ocean floor. they're like a giant mound, and the beaches flow into the water.
What is the surface of the planet that forms the continents and ocean floor?
The crust.
Why are basalt and granite important igneous rock?
As it turns out, most of the ocean floor is basalt, and most of the continents are granite.
Why does oceanic crust get older as you get closer to continents?
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
Why is the Atlantic Ocean is spreading?
The oceanic crust of the Atlantic Ocean floor is attached to the continental crust of the continents around the ocean. So as the Atlantic's Ocean floor spreads, the continents along its edges also move. Over time, the whole ocean gets wider.
