Jeff Kinney
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Science & Nature<br />
Rocky cliffs near the seashore are part of the crust.<br />
So are the steep walls of deep canyons, like the Grand<br />
Canyon in Arizona.<br />
The crust is a layer of rock that covers our entire<br />
planet. Below your feet the crust goes down as deep as<br />
40 miles. Under the ocean the crust is much thinner.<br />
It might go down only three miles. Forty miles sounds<br />
kind of thick. But it depends on your point of view.<br />
Use your imagination. What if the entire Earth were<br />
the size of a basketball? At that size, the Earth’s crust<br />
would be a thin layer. It would be thinner than a single<br />
hair on your head. The tallest mountains would be<br />
specks almost too small to see.<br />
What if you could slice the planet in half and look<br />
inside? It might look like a giant peach with four<br />
different layers. Some layers would be thin. Others<br />
would be very thick.<br />
Geologists are scientists who study the parts and<br />
layers of the Earth. They study how the layers formed<br />
and how the parts of our planet work. Some geologists<br />
like to compare the Earth to a giant hard-boiled egg.<br />
The Earth’s crust would be the egg’s hard outside shell.<br />
With one difference. The crust is thick in some parts<br />
and thin in others. The crust is thickest under the<br />
continents. It is much thinner under the oceans.<br />
Below the crust is a very thick layer of rock. This layer<br />
is called the mantle. The mantle is more than 1,800<br />
miles thick. It is kind of like the springy white part<br />
of the giant hard-boiled egg. Deep inside Earth is<br />
still another layer called the core. The core is like the<br />
yellow yolk of the giant egg. The Earth’s core has two<br />
parts. The outer part is made of super-hot melted rock.<br />
Scientists think the outer core may be as hot as the<br />
surface of the sun. It is more than 1,300 miles thick.<br />
The inner part of the core is solid metal. Geologists<br />
think it is made of iron and nickel. The inner core is<br />
more than 1,500 miles thick.<br />
Of course, the Earth is much bigger than a basketball.<br />
And it is much more complex than a peach or an egg.<br />
But you get the idea. Our planet is made of different<br />
parts. And it’s all right beneath your feet.<br />
Resources to learn more<br />
about Earth’s crust:<br />
WEBSITES:<br />
• Geology for kids<br />
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-forkids/0021-earths-crust.php<br />
• Easy science for kids<br />
http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-aboutearths-crust<br />
DOCUMENTARY FILMS AND BOOKS:<br />
• Earth Story<br />
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/earth-story<br />
• Uncovering Earth’s Crust<br />
by Conrad J. Storad<br />
• Earth’s Changing Surface<br />
by Conrad J. Storad<br />
Conrad J. Storad<br />
The award-winning author and editor of more than<br />
50 science and nature books for children and young<br />
adults, Conrad J. Storad expertly draws young readers<br />
into his imaginative and entertaining “classroom”<br />
to help them better understand and appreciate the<br />
natural world.<br />
StoryMonstersInk.com | NOVEMBER 2015 | Story Monsters Ink 23