An enormous area of the Earth’s crust has torn and slumped, dropping about 5 kilometers (3 miles). We’ve only just noticed ...

New research reveals that Earth’s continents owe their stability to searing heat deep in the planet’s crust. At more than ...

Modern continental rocks carry chemical signatures from the very start of our planet's history, challenging current theories about plate tectonics. Researchers have made a new discovery that changes ...

A first thought when describing a rock formation likely isn't a mille-feuille, but there are actually certain types composed of many thin layers that bring the flaky pastry to mind. Not only that—but ...

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 ...

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Earth is the only known planet which has plate tectonics today. The constant movement of these giant slabs of rock over the planet’s magma creates continents – and may have even helped create life. In ...