Here is an easy chart gathering together basic facts about each of the earth's layers, from top to bottom: the crust, the mantle, and the core. The crust and uppermost part of the mantle (down to 70 km) from the rigid lithosphere, which contains tectonic plates, underneath which lies the fluid taffy-like asthenosphere, which drives plate motion. Unsurprisingly, as you travel deeper into the earth, things get denser, hotter, and and more pressurized.
