This rugged outcrop of metamorphic bedrock within the Northwest Territories of Canada is sort of as outdated because the Earth itself, but it lies on the coronary heart of a habitat that helps a wealthy variety of animals, from polar bears, grizzly bears, wolves, and musk ox, to bald eagles, Canada geese, and ptarmigans.
The rocks that make up the Acasta Gneiss Complicated are extensively thought of to be the oldest rocks on the planet – a 2019 examine used zircon courting to estimate they might date again so far as 4.03 billion years in the past!
Not solely are these rocks extremely outdated, they’re additionally exceptionally uncommon. If you happen to add up the world the place they’re uncovered on the floor, the full space can be solely about 800 sq. metres, which is roughly the dimensions of 4 tennis courts.
On the time the Acasta Gneiss Complicated was shaped, Earth’s floor appeared very totally different and was fully devoid of life. It wasn’t till thousands and thousands of years later that the first signs of life appeared, and one other 3.2 billion years earlier than the primary animals advanced.
Prime photograph by S.J. Mojzsis
