Essay on Earth

Earth

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Earth is the third planet from the sun and the fifth biggest planet. Earth is the only planet whose name does not come from Greek/Roman mythology. The name Earth is from old English and Germanic. There are hundreds of other names for the planet Earth. "In Roman mythology, the goddesses of earth was Tellus (Author, Earth, 2012)."

Since we live on Earth, we can study it without traveling into space. In the 1960s, the United States was able to map the entire planet. They took pictures of the planet and were able to see the true dimensions of the continents. Going into space also allowed for humans to place satellites in space. The satellites help track Earth's weather patterns.

The Earth has five layers. The crust is the outermost layer of the Earth. You and I are now living on the crust. The second layer is the upper mantle. The upper mantle is 30 miles below the crust. The lower mantle is the third layer and is 500 miles below the crust. The outer core is the fourth layer. It is 2500 miles below the crust. The inner core is the fifth layer. It is 4500 miles from the crust (Glasscoe, 1998).

Earth's seasons are determined by its axis and rotation around the sun. Earth has four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. Earth is positioned at a perfect distance from the sun. If Earth was any closer to the sun, all of Earth's water would boil away boil away. If Earth was a father for the sun, Earth's water would turn to ice.

Water covers 97% of the Earth's surface. The water on Earth includes: ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, seas, and oceans. All the Earth's oceans are connected to one another. There are five oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, and Arctic oceans. There are also many seas. The largest seas are the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and South China Sea. The Red Sea and the Dead Sea are the smallest of the seas. Oceans and seas contain salt, which cannot be consumed as drinking water if it is untreated. The remaining water on Earth is freshwater and is safe to drink (Author, Earth, 2012).

Earth has seven continents. Asia is the largest continent and has