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Additional
continental crust
English Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
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Continental crust
The
continental crust
is the layer of
igneous
,
sedimentary
, and
metamorphic rocks
that forms the
continents
and the areas of shallow seabed close to their shores, known as
continental shelves
. This layer is sometimes called
sial
because its bulk composition is more
felsic
, or
granitic
, in contrast to the
oceanic crust
, called
sima
, whose bulk composition is more
mafic
or
basaltic
rock. (Based on the change in velocity of
seismic waves
, it is thought that at a certain depth sial becomes to sima close in its physical properties. This line is called the
Conrad discontinuity
.)
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