Earth's heat and the Continents

If it wasn’t for the heat in the earth’s crust, most of continental North America would have been in the sea! Thus say some scientists in Utah.

Here is how it would have affected some places:

– Denver (1.6 kilometre above sea level) would be 221.6 metres below sea level
– New York City, more than 0.4 kilometre below the Atlantic
– Los Angeles would be almost 1.2 kilometre beneath the Pacific.

“Researchers have failed to appreciate how heat makes rock in the continental crust and upper mantle expand to become less dense and more buoyant,” said Derrick Hasterok, a graduate student in geology and geophysics.