Structure of the Earth obducted onto the continental crust and preserved as ophiolite sequences. Many rocks now making up Earth's crust formed less than 100 million (1) years ago; however, the oldest known mineral grains are about 4.4 billion (4.4) years old, indicating that Earth has had a solid crust for at least 4.4 billion years. Earth's mantle extends to a depth of 2,890 km, making it the thickest layer of Earth. The mantle is divided into upper and lower mantle. The upper and lower mantle are separated by the transition zone. The lowest part of the mantle next to the core-mantle boundary is
Structure of the Earth of the modern value. Seismic measurements show that the core is divided into two parts, a "solid" inner core with a radius of ≈1,220 km and a liquid outer core extending beyond it to a radius of ≈3,400 km. The densities are between 9,900 and 12,200 kg/m in the outer core and 12,600–13,000 kg/m in the inner core. The inner core was discovered in 1936 by Inge Lehmann and is generally believed to be composed primarily of iron and some nickel. Since this layer is able to transmit shear waves (transverse seismic waves), it must be solid. Experimental evidence has