TroposphereThe lowest layer, where almost all weather happens.
StratosphereWarmer with height, because ozone absorbs ultraviolet light here.
MesosphereMeteors burn up in this layer.
ThermosphereVery thin air that heats up by absorbing the Sun’s radiation.
ExosphereThe outermost layer, where atoms and molecules escape into space.
Ozone layerOzone in the stratosphere that absorbs the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation.
Boundaries (pauses) 4
TropopauseThe boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
StratopauseThe boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere.
MesopauseThe boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere.
ThermopauseThe boundary between the thermosphere and the exosphere.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 in at least two of these; every height on the chart is from the first. (1) NOAA JetStream, Layers of the Atmosphere, https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmosphere/layers-of-atmosphere (five layers bounded by pauses; troposphere to 6 to 20 km, 4 to 12 miles; stratosphere to about 50 km, 31 miles; mesosphere to 85 km, 53 miles; thermosphere to about 600 km, 375 miles; exosphere to 10,000 km, 6,200 miles; tropopause, stratopause, mesopause, thermopause). (2) NASA, Earth’s Atmosphere: A Multi-layered Cake, https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-atmosphere/earths-atmosphere-a-multi-layered-cake/ (the five layers, the ozone layer in the stratosphere, meteors in the mesosphere, the space station and aurora in the thermosphere, satellites in the exosphere). (3) Wikipedia, Atmosphere of Earth, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Earth (the layers, the four pauses, the ozone layer). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Own original chart; the heights are NOAA JetStream’s, and nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work
How it works
Use this chart to label the atmospheric layers from the ground up: five layers, the ozone layer and the four boundaries between layers, called pauses. A height is printed at each boundary.
Read the full guide
From the ground up
Almost all weather happens in the troposphere, which gets colder with height. In the stratosphere the ozone layer warms the air again. Meteors burn up in the mesosphere. The thermosphere absorbs the Sun’s ultraviolet and x-ray radiation, and from the exosphere atoms escape into space.
Label the layers of the atmosphere worksheet
Print the chart blank for a layers of the atmosphere labeling worksheet; the print with names is the answer key. The bands are not to scale: the exosphere is far deeper than the other four together.
The heights are NOAA’s. NASA puts the top of the mesosphere near 80 km and the thermosphere near 700 km: the boundaries are not sharp.
Questions and answers
What are the 5 layers of the atmosphere in order?
From the ground up: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. NOAA and NASA both list these five.
Which layer has the ozone layer?
The stratosphere. Ozone there absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, which is why the stratosphere gets warmer with height.
What is the tropopause?
The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere. Each boundary is named for the layer below it: tropopause, stratopause, mesopause and thermopause.
How high is the troposphere?
It depends on where you are. NOAA gives 18 to 20 km (11 to 12 miles) at the equator and just under 6 km (4 miles) at the poles.