Parts of ancient Earth may have formed continents and recycled crust through subduction far earlier than previously thought.

A study of the East African Rift reveals that ancient heating and dehydration can strengthen continental crust, reshaping how and where continents break apart.

The Earth’s crust is disappearing right beneath our feet – and most people don’t even realise it. Now, if you’re a geologist, or got a keen interest in how the Earth is put together, then this ...

Memorizing seven continents feels settled, like learning the alphabet. A new study argues the ground rules are less tidy.

An artistic reconstruction of Earth during the Hadean eon (~4.5 billion years ago). Intense volcanic activity, heat from accretion, and frequent impacts kept the young Earth in a molten state. This ...

Just over 4 billion years ago, magma from Earth’s mantle infiltrated a fracture in the young planet’s primordial crust. Over the following aeons, nearly all of the planet’s early crust melted back ...

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

Using an unprecedented amount of high-resolution satellite data, researchers have found that Earth’s fault lines are far weaker—and continents far less rigid—than long-standing geological models ...

(Left) Schematic illustration of a kink structure. (Center) Kink bands observed in mudstone near Fort Island, Rhode Island. (Right) Large-scale kink structure in Southern California, USA. Your first ...

Scientific exploration fueled the attempt by Chinese engineers to drill into the core of the planet and study its features. The digging of China’s first borehole over 10,000 meters (32,808 feet) deep ...