The word ‘Litho’ in
Greek means ‘Rocky’.
Definition of the Lithosphere:
·
The Lithosphere is the solid, rocky crust covering entire planet.
· The Lithosphere is the rigid outermost shell
of a rocky planet defined on the
basis of the mechanical properties.
Where is the Lithosphere spread?
The Lithosphere is spread
on the entire surface of the
earth from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
How was the Lithosphere formed?
The Lithosphere began as
a hot ball of the matter which formed the Earth about 4.6 billion years
ago.About 3.2 billion years ago, the Earth cooled down considerably. On the cooled Earth, the life began to
flourish.
What is it composed of?
The Lithosphere is
composed of the inorganic crust, composed of various minerals.
The outermost shell of a rocky planet defined
on the basis of the chemistry and mineralogy is a crust.
How dense is the crust?
The crust is about 6-7 KM
thick and it lies under the continents.
How many elements are there in the Lithosphere?
There are about 92
elements in the Lithosphere.
What are the common constituents of the Lithosphere?
There are 8 common
constituents in the Lithosphere. They
are:
Constituent
|
Percentage
by volume
|
|
1
|
Oxygen
|
47%
|
2
|
Silicon
|
28%
|
3
|
Aluminum
|
8%
|
4
|
Iron
|
5%
|
5
|
Sodium
|
3%
|
6
|
Magnesium
|
3%
|
7
|
Potassium
|
3%
|
8
|
Calcium
|
3%
|
How many varieties of minerals are present in the
Lithosphere?
There are 92 elements in
the Lithosphere and they form about 200 common mineral compounds.
Lithosphere useful for humans
Form of Lithosphere
|
Use
|
Soil
|
Soil is
formed when the rocks are broken down either by physical weathering or
chemical weathering. It is the base
for Agriculture. Agriculture is the
source of food for humans.
|
Stones
Sand
Gravels
|
All these
are used in the process of construction.
|
Micro nutrients
|
These are in
the soil. These are essential for
plant growth.
|
Microscopic
flora
Small soil
fauna
Soil-fungi
|
These are
the living organisms and hence fall under the category of biosphere. Yet, the entire life of all these happens
in the Lithosphere only.
These break
down the plant litter and animal wastes to provide nutrients for plants.
|
Various
Minerals
|
Various industries
are based on these.
|
Oil
Coal
Gas etc.
|
These are
extracted from the underground source.
These provide energy and power for industries, vehicles, agriculture,
machinery and houses.
|
Lithosphere in the Indian Tradition
The word “Lithosphere”
can be translated as “Mridavaranam” into Sanskrit.
“Mrit” means the soil;
“Avaranam” means the sphere.
Mrit is spread all over
the surface of the Earth and beneath the oceans as well.
It can be even called
as the “Prithvi”.
Prithvi is categorized
as “Dravya”. (Substance, the first
among the Saptapadarthas)
Prithvi is classified
as the first among the Dravyas. (The
Earth, the first among the Navadravyas)
The General properties of the Prithvi
are described by the Indians like this:
*Prithvi is that which is possesses odour. It means,
the special quality of the
Prithvi is the odour. This quality is
not found in any other padarthas or dravyas.
Prithvi has other qualities also such as colour, taste etc.
*It is of two sorts: eternal and non-eternal;
The first (eternal) is atomic and the second (non-eternal)
is a product.
*The Earth is again divided into three sorts:
a) Body b) Organof sense c) Gross matter.
a) The body is that which belongs to the human
beings and other living creatures etc.
b) The organ of senseis the organ of smell which
apprehends the odour and is situated at the root of the nose.
c) The Gross matter is in the form of the soil and the
stones etc.
Few Indian words of
Sanskrit origin are capable of conveying some properties of the Lithosphere:
Word
|
Meaning
|
Properties/forms suggested by the word
|
|
1
2
3
|
Mahidhra
Kshmabhrit
Bhudhara
|
Mountain
|
It holds the
Earth. (Crust)
|
4
|
Adri
|
Mountain
|
Provides
various kinds of food to various living creatures.
|
5
6
|
Saila
Silocchaya
|
Mountain
|
It contains
rocks.
|
7
|
Lokaloka
|
Mountain
|
A part of it
is visible outside on the Earth and the remaining part is not visible as it
is spread under the ground.
|
8
|
Chakravala
|
Mountain
|
The rockymountains
that have surrounded the Earth.
|
9
10
|
Pashana
Upala
|
Rock/
Stone
|
It is very
hard and can break other things.
|
11
|
Asma
|
Rock
|
It shields
all the Earth.
|
12
|
Rasa
|
Earth
|
It contains
various tastes in it.
|
13
|
Kshiti
|
Earth
|
It is the
base of the life.
|
14
15
|
Vasumati
Vasundhara
|
Earth
|
It contains
rich minerals in it.
|
16
|
Prithvi
|
Earth
|
It is spread
so vast.
|
17
18
|
Mrit
Mrittika
|
Soil
|
It is soft
and unconsolidated.
|
19
|
Mritsna
|
Soil
|
Fine variety
of the soil. (Alluvial soil)
|
20
|
Ushara
|
A variety
of land
|
Saline land
|
21
|
Maru
|
A variety
of land
|
The land
where the soil does not ingest the water.
|
22
23
|
Khila
Prahata
|
A variety
of land
|
The land of
hard soil where ploughing is not easy.
|
24
|
Pankila
|
A variety
of land
|
The land of
muddy soil.
|
25
26
|
Anupa
Kaccha
|
A variety
of land
|
The land
where the surface is partially drenched always with the water.
|
27
|
Sarkaravati
|
A variety
of land
|
The land of sweet
soil.
|
28
|
Sikatavati
|
A variety
of land
|
The land of
sand. (River bank/Desert/Seashore)
|
29
|
Khani
|
Mine
|
The land
where various jewels are found under the ground.
|
30
|
Akara
|
Mine
|
Mineral
Deposit
|
31
32
|
Dhatu
Gairika
|
Mineral
|
Various
minerals such as Gold, Silver, Copper etc.
|
33
|
Guha/
Bila
|
Cave
Hollow
|
Shelter for
darkness even during the time of broad day light.
|
The
above details make us understand that the Ancestors of the Indians had a great
observation of various properties of the land around them and scientific
approach in remembering those qualities by giving various names to the land,
rocks, mountains etc.
Observations in Ramayana
The
following is the description of various Minerals found in various colours in
the Ramayana -
K®cit Rajatasa´k¡¿¡Å K®cit
KÀatajasannibh¡Å.
P¢tam¡µjiÀ¶havar¸¡¿ca
K®cinma¸ivaraprabh¡Å..
PuÀy¡rkak®tak¡bh¡¿ca
K®cijjy°t¢rasaprabh¡Å.
Vir¡jant®'cal®ndrasya D®¿¡
Dh¡tuvibh£Àit¡Å..
“These
mountain rocks are shining in various colours reflected from various minerals…
Some of them are white like silver. Some
are in red colour. Some are in the mixed
colour of red and yellow. Some are in
blackish blue colour. Some are shining
in the colour of crystals”.
Names of some great Mountains and hills are mentioned in
the ancient texts. Few of them are –
Himalaya, Chitrakuta, Rishyamuka, Prasravana, Vindhya, Mahendragiri, Trikuta,
Malaya, Meru, Mandara, Suvela etc.
There is a record of special variety of stones which can
float on the water, with which they army of monkeys built a bridge across the
sea to reach the Lanka, in the Ramayana.
Ramayana mentioned even a Mountain called “Mainaka”, which could rise upwards and
sink downwards in the sea waters, at will.
Indians consider themselves the sons of Mother Earth. “P£tr°haÆ P¤thivy¡Å.”
In the
Bhagavata, SriKrishna encouraged all his kinsmen to offer their honour to the
mountains which nourish the humans, animals and plants but not to the invisible
deities.
In the BhagavadGita, Lord Krishna claimed himself the “Himalaya among the Mountains”.
Indians built many of their holy temples on the
Mountains. As they visualize them to be
the abodes of Gods, they consider them to be sacred and do not mount them with
footwear.
It seems that the thoughts of Indians were cautiously
organized to protect the mountains and the environment. Hail their feelings!
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