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The Oldest Rocks on Earth Are in Canada, and They’re 4.16 Billion Years Old

Discover how scientists found and dated the oldest rocks on the planet, and why studying them can help explain how life on Earth first began.

ByStephanie Edwards
(Image Credit: Danita Delimont/Shutterstock) Danita Delimont/Shutterstock

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Canada is the land of hockey, maple syrup, and a tendency to end every sentence with the word “eh” – it’s also home to the oldest rocks on Earth.

A new study, published in Science, confirmed that the oldest rocks on Earth are located in the Canadian province of Quebec as part of the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt. The rocks, dated to 4.16 billion years ago, were formed during the Hadean Eon, the oldest geologic eon in Earth’s history.

“This confirmation positions the Nuvvuagittuq Belt as the only place on Earth where we find rocks formed during the Hadean eon, that is, the first 500 million years of our planet’s history,” said Jonathan O’Neil, an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Ottawa, in a press release.

Read More: The Hidden Layers of Earth and Tectonic Plate Movements

“This confirmation positions the Nuvvuagittuq Belt ...

  • Stephanie Edwards

    As the marketing coordinator at Discover Magazine, Stephanie Edwards interacts with readers across Discover's social media channels and writes digital content. Offline, she is a contract lecturer in English & Cultural Studies at Lakehead University, teaching courses on everything from professional communication to Taylor Swift, and received her graduate degrees in the same department from McMaster University. You can find more of her science writing in Lab Manager and her short fiction in anthologies and literary magazine across the horror genre.

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