Why Continents Haven’t Sunk Into Lava Yet

It’s wild to think about, but the continents haven’t sunk into lava because of how Earth’s crust works. The crust, which includes the continents, is like a giant jigsaw puzzle of solid plates floating on a gooey layer called the mantle. Even though the mantle is hot and partly molten, it’s dense enough to keep the crust floating instead of letting it sink. Plus, continents are made of lighter, less dense rock compared to the heavier ocean floors, so they naturally stay on top. Earth’s tectonic plates might shift and collide, but they’re surprisingly sturdy over millions of years. So, while there’s plenty of molten rock beneath us, the continents are safe from sinking anytime soon! Credit: CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Die Entstehung der Anden: by ZDF/Terra X/Hanna Kotarba/Albrecht M. Wendlandt, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Entstehung des Himalaya-Gebirges: by ZDF/Terra X/Faszination Erde/C. Götz-Sobel/O. Rötz/M. Zimmermann/Maximilian Mohr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... depiction of Ur: by mrAnmol,https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Tectonic plate: by Andrew Merdith, https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%... Ess2650: by Christopher R. Scotese, Ben A. van der Pluijm, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Pangaea-proxima: by Orolenial, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Tectonic plates: by M.Bitton, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music by Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD... Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook:   / brightside   Instagram:   / brightside.official   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.of... Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices