Asked by diddy

IS CONTINENTAL MADE OF ROCKS OR METALS

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Continents (the continental crust) are made mostly of rocks, not pure metals.

- The bulk of continental crust is rock composed of silicate minerals — common rock types are granite (felsic), metamorphic rocks (like gneiss and schist), and many sedimentary rocks (sandstone, shale, limestone).
- Those rocks are made of minerals containing elements such as oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium. (As a rough elemental breakdown of Earth’s crust: O ~46%, Si ~28%, Al ~8%, Fe ~6%, Ca ~4%, Na/K/Mg a few percent each.)
- Metals occur in the crust as chemical components of minerals or as concentrated ore deposits (iron ore, copper, gold, etc.), but continents are not made of bulk metal. Native (pure) metals are rare at Earth’s surface.
- By contrast, oceanic crust is thinner and denser and made mainly of basalt (more magnesium and iron), while continental crust is thicker (often 30–70 km) and less dense because it is richer in silica and aluminum.

Short answer: mostly rocks (silicate minerals); metals exist within those rocks but don’t make up the continents.