GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Oceanic crust is generally composed of dark-colored rocks called basalt and gabbro. It is thinner and denser than continental crust, which is made of light-colored rocks called andesite and granite. The low density of continental crust causes it to “float” high atop the viscous mantle, forming dry land.

Detailed explanation-2: -Earth’s crust is divided into two types: oceanic crust and continental crust. The transition zone between these two types of crust is sometimes called the Conrad discontinuity. Silicates (mostly compounds made of silicon and oxygen) are the most abundant rocks and minerals in both oceanic and continental crust.

Detailed explanation-3: -Oceanic plates are plates that lie primarily under the ocean. Continental plates are those containing continents. As the plates interact with each other like when two continents collide together, they shape the topography, or relief, of the Earth’s surface.