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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.
Are most plate boundaries on continents or in ocean basins?
Most plate boundaries are located in ocean basins rather than on continents. This is because oceanic plates are denser than continental plates, leading to subduction zones and mid-ocean ridges where most of the plate boundaries are found in the oceans.
Does the earths crust extend deeper below the continents or below the ocean basins?
Earths crust extend deeper below the continents than below the oceans basins (or at least this is what I think).
Why do continents float high relative to the ocean basin?
The continents are thicker and less dense than the materials that make up the ocean basins.
Are all the earths ocean basins less than 2000 million years old?
No, not all of Earth's ocean basins are less than 2000 million years old. While many ocean basins have formed and changed over the last 200 million years due to plate tectonics, some features, like the Atlantic Ocean, have origins that date back to around 200 million years ago. In contrast, older oceanic crust can be found in certain areas, such as parts of the Pacific Ocean, which can be much older, but the ocean basins themselves continuously evolve and are shaped by geological processes.
Why the ocean older than land?
The ocean is older than land because it formed the land.
Why are andesitic and granitic rocks confined to the continents and ocean margins but absent from deep ocean basins?
The igneous rock underlying the deep ocean basins is basaltic, as its source material comes from the asthenosphere. Andesitic igneous rock is formed at colliding plate margins, where subducting oceanic crust is partially melted and undergoes differentiation as it rises through the continental crust. Granitic rock is less dense than oceanic crust and composes the continents.
Two contradictory beliefs to continental drift?
The concept of fixed continents in a static Earth environment, suggesting that landmasses have always been in their current positions. The belief that geological features, such as mountain ranges and ocean basins, are shaped by localized processes rather than the movement of continents.
Which ocean has a greater area than all the continents combined?
The Pacific Ocean has a greater area than all the continents combined. It covers about 30% of the Earth's surface and is the largest and deepest ocean in the world.
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.
Which ocean is larger than all of continents of the world combined?
The Pacific Ocean is larger than all of the world's continents combined. The ocean covers an area of 63.8 million square miles, while the continents only cover 57.4 million square miles.
Which ocean has an area greater than that of all the continents combined?
The Pacific Ocean has an area greater than that of all the continents combined. It is the largest and deepest ocean on Earth, covering approximately 63 million square miles.
