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  • Oceanic Crust: Composition, Formation, and Characteristics
    The ocean floor is primarily made up of oceanic crust.

    Here's a breakdown of the key features:

    * Composition: Oceanic crust is composed mainly of basalt, a dark-colored volcanic rock, and gabbro, a denser, coarse-grained rock.

    * Thickness: It's much thinner than continental crust, typically around 5-10 kilometers (3-6 miles) thick.

    * Density: It's denser than continental crust, which is why it sits lower in the Earth's mantle.

    * Formation: Oceanic crust is constantly being created at mid-ocean ridges, where magma rises from the Earth's mantle and cools to form new crust.

    * Subduction: Oceanic crust is also constantly being destroyed at subduction zones, where it dives beneath continental or other oceanic crust and is recycled back into the mantle.

    Let me know if you'd like to know more about any specific aspect of oceanic crust!

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