What is the geosphere?

• A. The layer of gases that surrounds Earth; includes air and weather.
• B. All the solid parts of Earth, including rocks, soil, and landforms.
• C. All water on Earth, including oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater.
• D. All frozen water on Earth, such as glaciers, ice caps, and permafrost.

Answer: (B)

The geosphere is the solid, rocky part of Earth—the stuff that makes up the continents and the planet’s interior, including rocks, soil, and landforms. It includes the crust and the deeper layers like the mantle and core, as well as the features they create, such as mountains, valleys, and plate boundaries. This is different from the atmosphere, which is the layer of gases surrounding Earth, the hydrosphere, which covers all Earth’s water, and the cryosphere, which includes all frozen water like glaciers and permafrost. So describing the geosphere as all the solid parts of Earth, including rocks, soil, and landforms, is the best fit.