Earth’s oldest crater really is over 3 billion years old, new study confirms

In the Pilbara of Western Australia, some of Earth’s oldest rocks lie beneath the sky, as they have for billions of years. They are dark, weathered volcanic rocks, close to 3.5 billion years old, cut by veins and stewed by deep time.

Their survival is remarkable. Most rocks this old have moved back into Earth’s interior. These ones, still on the surface, have changed, but not enough to erase their first story.

In places, they still preserve the rounded forms of pillow basalts – lava that erupted underwater and cooled on an ancient sea floor.

The same rock record…

© La Conversation - mardi 23 juin 2026