New research has dramatically reshaped our understanding of Earth’s early geological history, overturning traditional beliefs about how the planet’s first continents came into being. Researchers from ...

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 ...

Far beneath the South Pacific, a continent the size of India has finally stepped out of the cartographic shadows. After centuries of speculation and decades of targeted surveys, scientists have now ...

For billions of years, Earth’s continents have stood firm, forming the foundation for mountains, rivers, and life itself. But what gave these massive slabs of rock their remarkable stability has long ...

Relative plate motions and plate boundary geometries are from Cao et al. (2024), with plate motions placed in a mantle reference frame. Continents are light grey, with continental margins shown in ...

Disregard what you learned in geography class—Earth may not have seven continents after all. From the earliest of grades, schoolchildren around the world have memorized the same lineup: Africa, ...

A new study of the chemical components of rocks led by researchers at Penn State and Columbia University provides the clearest evidence yet for how Earth's continents became and remained so stable — ...