What is the difference between the crust and lithosphere? The crust (whether continental or oceanic) is the thin layer of distinctive chemical composition overlying the ultramafic upper mantle. ... The lithosphere is the rigid outer layer of the Earth required by plate tectonic theory.
The crust (whether continental or oceanic) is the thin layer of distinctive chemical composition overlying the ultramafic upper mantle. ... The lithosphere is the rigid outer layer of the Earth required by plate tectonic theory.
