New study confirms location of the oldest rocks on Earth

Dark grey, flat rock formations at the edge of the sea photographed on a sunny day with blue skies
The site of the oldest rocks on Earth, 30km from Inukjuak, in Nunavik, Canada. Credit: University of Ottawa

The northeastern Canadian province of Quebec is home to the oldest known rocks on Earth and likely the last remnants of our planet’s early crust.

A new study has dated the rocks to at least 4.16 billion years ago (bya) during Earth’s first geologic eon – the Hadean. The Earth is about 4.54 billion years old, placing them within the first 500 million years of the planet’s history.

The findings are presented in the journal Science.

“Earth has a habit of renewing its crust through melting and recrystallisation, thus erasing much of its early history,” Editor of Science, Angela Hessler, writes in a summary of the research.

“There are mineral fragments from the oldest eon, the Hadean, but there is little consensus on whether any intact, primordial crust still exists.”

Three scientists sit in a row outdoors examining rocks
From left Christian Sole, Professor Hanika Rizo and Professor Jonathan O’Neil collecting rock samples from the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt. Credit: University of Ottawa

Samples of the exceptionally old rocks were collected in 2017 from the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt (NGB) – an area of about 10 km2 near the municipality of Inukjuak, Nunavik.

“For over 15 years, the scientific community has debated the age of volcanic rocks from northern Quebec,” says Jonathan O’Neil, an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Ottawa and co-author of the paper.

Our previous research suggested that they could date back 4.3 billion years, but this wasn’t the consensus.”

An illustrated map showing the distinct regions of the nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt. An inset, black and white illustration shows its location in canada and within the archean superior craton
Simplified geological map of the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt. Credit: Sole et al 2025, DOI:10.1126science.ads8461

Radiometric dating is used to determine the age of a material based on the presence of radioactive isotopes within it. New analysis of the elements samarium and neodymium within the samples reveals that rocks which “intruded” into the NGB first crystallised 4.16 bya.

This means the surrounding volcanic rocks must be even older.

“This confirmation positions the Nuvvuagittuq Belt as the only place on Earth where we find rocks formed during the Hadean eon,” says O’Neil.

“Understanding these rocks is going back to the very origins of our planet. This allows us to better understand how the first continents were formed and to reconstruct the environment from which life could have emerged.”

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