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The oldest dated rocks formed on Earth, as an aggregate of minerals that have not been subsequently broken down by erosion or melted, are more than 4 billion years old, formed during the Hadean Eon of Earth's geological history, and mark the start of the Archean Eon, which is defined to start with the formation of the oldest intact rocks on Earth.
The oldest felsic rocks that are currently exposed intruded pre-existing, even older, mafic crustal rock and crystallized well beneath the Earth's surface. Later, these rocks were thermally metamorphosed, intruded by additional felsic magma, and partially melted during Eoarchean thermal events occurred about 3.85 to 3.72 Ga and 3.66 to 3.59 Ga.
These rocks have undergone extensive metamorphism, and represent some of the oldest surface rocks on Earth. Two papers dating the age of the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt have been published. One paper gave an age of c. 3,750 million years , [2] while the other gave an age of c. 4,388 Ma. [3]
Mount Roraima is composed of Proterozoic age sandstone formed about 1.7 to 2 billion years ago, [11] [14] [15] [21] and hence amongst the oldest rocks on Earth. It contains a large amount of quartz deposits, [9] [14] [15] [21] 98% are silica particles, [16] forming white or pink crystals several centimeters long.
Akilia is the location of a rock formation that has been proposed to contain the oldest known sedimentary rocks on Earth, [1] [2] and perhaps the oldest evidence of life on Earth. [ 3 ] Geology
Eoarchean geology is the study of the oldest preserved crustal fragments of Earth during the Eoarchean era from 4.031 to 3.6 billion years ago. Major well-preserved rock units dated to this era are known from three localities, the Isua Greenstone Belt in Southwest Greenland, the Acasta Gneiss in the Slave Craton in Canada, and the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt in the eastern coast of Hudson Bay ...
Some of the oldest exposed rocks on Earth (greater than 3.6 Ga) are located in the Barberton Greenstone Belt of the Eswatini–Barberton areas and these contain some of the oldest traces of life on Earth, second only to the Isua Greenstone Belt of Western Greenland. The Makhonjwa Mountains make up 40% of the Baberton belt. [1]
The eon's lower boundary or starting point of 4,031±3 million years ago is officially recognized by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, [1] which is the age of the oldest known intact rock formations on Earth. Evidence of rocks from the preceding Hadean Eon are therefore restricted by definition to non-rock and non-terrestrial ...