These ancient metamorphic rocks called gneisses, found on the Arctic Coast, represent the roots of the continents now exposed at the surface. The scientists said sedimentary rocks interlayered in ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Earth's first continents, known as the cratons, emerged from the ocean between 3.3 billion and ...

Scientists recently published new ideas about why Earth’s toughest, oldest continents persist. These continents, known as cratons, have been on earth for more than two billion years. Andrew Zuza, an ...

Seismic analyses of the lithosphere, undertaken as part of the Kaapvaal project, provide an unprecedented view of cratons — the earliest parts of continental landmasses. The results of the seismic ...

The continent of North America is not a single, thick, rigid slab, but is instead more similar to a layer cake, with a section of 3-billion-year-old rock sitting atop much newer material, a new study ...

The continent of North America is not a single, thick, rigid slab, but is instead more similar to a layer cake, with a section of 3-billion-year-old rock sitting atop much newer material, a new study ...

Cratons (from the Greek “power” or “might”) are the areas of the oldest continental crust on Earth that are preserved only in several places on our planet. According to scientists, the Kaapvaal Craton ...

Earth's continents were formed when our planet was bombarded with giant meteorites around 3.5 billion years ago, a new study has found. Researchers from Curtin University in Perth, Australia analysed ...