Which is the outermost layer of the earth composed of crust and upper mantle?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

SSC GD Constable (2022) Official Paper (Held On : 31 Jan 2023 Shift 1)

Answer 1

The correct answer is the lithosphere.

Key Points

The lithosphere is the solid, outer part of the Earth.
It is an irregular surface with various landforms such as mountains, plateaus, deserts, plains, valleys, etc.
It includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust.
It is bounded by the atmosphere above and the asthenosphere below.

Additional Information

The mesosphere is the 3rd layer of Earth's atmosphere.
- It extends from about 50 to 85 km above our planet.
- The mesosphere burns up most meteors and asteroids before they are able to reach the earth's surface.
The stratosphere is the 2nd layer of Earth's atmosphere.
- It extends around 6 to 20 km above the Earth's surface.
- This is where you'll find the very important ozone layer which helps protect us from ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun.
The asthenosphere is the mechanically weak and ductile region of the upper mantle of Earth.
- It lies below the lithosphere, between approximately 80 and 200 km below the surface, and extends as deep as 700 km.
- It enables the tectonic plates to move because the material under them can flow.