The inner Earth flows and churns. In the mantle, flowing rocks help move the plates above them. In the outer core, a churning dynamo of liquid iron generates Earth's magnetic field.

During Earth’s first 100 million years, ever-larger particles in the infant Solar System collided and stuck together — generating tremendous heat.

Earth accreted, then melted completely, and layers began to form.

• Dense molten iron sank and created the core.
• Lighter silicate liquid rose and cooled, forming the mantle.
• Later, partial melting of the mantle produced the crust — a process that continues today.

The Crust – Earth’s
Thin Skin

Relative to its size, Earth's crust is about as thin as an apple's skin. This outermost layer is composed primarily of two types of rock.

Granite
The continental crust is mostly granite.

Basalt
The oceanic crust is mostly basalt.

The Mantle – Deep and Dense

About 84 percent of Earth's volume is mantle rock.

• The uppermost 100km of the mantle is rigid. Along with the crust, it makes up
  the lithosphere (the plates).
• The next layer, the asthenosphere, is solid, hot, and soft. It flows much like a glacier does.
• The lower mantle is extremely dense. It, too, flows.

The Core – Iron Center

About 15 percent of Earth's volume is an iron-nickel core the size of Mars.

• The outer core is molten...and so hot it could be as fluid as water. Its motions create Earth's dynamic magnetic field.
• The inner core is under such immense pressure that it is solid metal.