
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
Name: Teresa
Status: Student
Grade: 6-8
Location: CA
Country: United States
Date: October 2008

Why are caverns so cold if the earths crust is hot?


Think of it this way: While the core of the Earth is indeed hot, there are also miles of rock between the hot core and the Earth's surface. This forms an insulating barrier between us and the core (much like a jacket keeps your heat from escaping out into the cold environment). We only experience the heat of the inner core during volcano eruptions when the hot matter gets past the insulating rock.

So, what keeps us warm is not the core, but the Sun. In this sense the more insulated we are from the Sun, the colder it feels - just like on a cloudy day when the Sun is insulated by the clouds, or as in your question- when there are rocks in between you and the Sun.

Greg (Roberto Gregorius)

Click here to return to the Environmental and Earth Science Archives



Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory