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Cratons of South America and Africa during the Triassic Period when the two continents were joined as part of the Pangea supercontinent. A craton (/ ˈ k r eɪ t ɒ n / KRAYT-on, / ˈ k r æ t ɒ n / KRAT-on, or / ˈ k r eɪ t ən / KRAY-tən; [1] [2] [3] from Ancient Greek: κράτος kratos "strength") is an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere, which consists of Earth's two ...
Nevertheless, the oldest cratons on Earth include the Kaapvaal Craton, the Western Gneiss terrane of the Yilgarn Craton (~2.9 – >3.2 Ga), the Pilbara Craton (~3.4 Ga), and portions of the Canadian Shield (~2.4 – >3.6 Ga). Parts of Dharwar Craton in India are greater than 3.0 Ga. The oldest dated rocks of the Baltic Shield are 3.5 Ga old. [10]
The Kaapvaal craton is marked by dramatic events such as the intrusion of the Bushveld Complex (2.045 Ga) and the Vredefort impact event (2.025 Ga), and no traces of these events have been found in the Pilbara craton, clearly indicating that the two cratons were separated before 2.05 Ga. [10] Furthermore, geochronological and palaeomagnetic ...
Evidence of possibly the oldest forms of life on Earth has been found in hydrothermal vent precipitates. [1]The earliest known life forms on Earth may be as old as 4.1 billion years (or Ga) according to biologically fractionated graphite inside a single zircon grain in the Jack Hills range of Australia. [2]
There are only two locations in the world containing rock formations that are intact enough to preserve evidence of early life: the Kaapvaal Craton in Southern Africa and the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia. [4] The Dresser Formation is located in the Pilbara Craton, and contains sedimentary rock from the Paleoarchean Era.
Unearthed in a rock layer dating back to the Triassic period, between 252 million and 201 million years ago, the Gondwanax paraisensis fossil comes from the time when dinosaurs as well as mammals ...
A 68-million-year-old skull fossil found in Antarctica has revealed the oldest known modern bird, ... dooming the dinosaurs to extinction. ... ‘World’s best’ coffee shop for 2025 named.
That diamond on your wedding ring isn't as rare as you might think, according to new research.