Earth Earth is metamorphic rock, which is created from the transformation of pre-existing rock types through high pressures, high temperatures, or both. The most abundant silicate minerals on Earth's surface include quartz, feldspars, amphibole, mica, pyroxene and olivine. Common carbonate minerals include calcite (found in limestone) and dolomite. The elevation of the land surface varies from the low point of at the Dead Sea, to a maximum altitude of at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is about . The pedosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's continental surface and is composed of soil
For the Beauty of the Earth For the Beauty of the Earth "For the Beauty of the Earth" is a Christian hymn by Folliott S. Pierpoint (1835-1917). Pierpoint was 29 at the time he wrote this hymn; he was mesmerized by the beauty of the countryside that surrounded him. It first appeared in 1864 in a book of Eucharistic Hymns and Poems entitled "Lyra Eucharistica, Hymns and Verses on The Holy Communion, Ancient and Modern, with other Poems." It was written as a Eucharistic hymn - hence the title of "The Sacrifice of Praise", the refrain "Christ, our God, to Thee we raise, This, our sacrifice