Earth’s deepest layer is a solid inner core of very hot metal. This metal may be nearly as hot as the sun’s surface. The outer core is also made of hot metal, but it’s liquid, not solid. The mantle surrounds the outer core. The mantle is Earth’s largest and thickest layer and consists of very hot, very dense rock. The rock is solid in the lower and upper parts of the mantle. In between, however, is a region where the rock is neither liquid nor solid. The slow movement and behavior of this material, caused by heat and pressure, have an impact on Earth’s surface. Above the mantle is Earth’s outermost layer, the thin, rocky crust. There are two types of crust: oceanic crust and continental crust. Oceanic crust is covered by ocean water. Most of the continental crust is dry land, but some of the crust around the edges is covered by water. Oceanic crust is thinner but heavier than continental crust.
