- Composition: Basalt (more dense than continental crust)

- Thickness: 5-10 kilometers

- Age: Younger than continental crust (mostly less than 180 million years old)

- Structure: Thin, dense layer with a regular and smooth surface

- Formation: Formed at mid-ocean ridges where new oceanic crust is created through the process of seafloor spreading

- Location: Found beneath the ocean floors

Continental Crust

- Composition: Granite (less dense than oceanic crust)

- Thickness: 20-70 kilometers

- Age: Older than oceanic crust with some parts dating back billions of years

- Structure: Thicker, less dense layer with a more varied and complex surface including mountains, valleys, and plateaus

- Formation: Formed through processes like mountain building, erosion, and sedimentation over billions of years

- Location: Found above sea level, forming the continents