ATHENS, Ohio — Like pieces in a giant jigsaw puzzle, continents have split, drifted and merged again many times throughout Earth’s history, but geologists haven’t understood the mechanism behind the ...

The first continents on Earth formed between 3 and 2.5 billion years ago. Geologists studying the oldest rocks found on Earth believe that partial melting, fueled by the heat released during the decay ...

Tulane University scientists, working with an international research team, have identified why some sections of the Earth’s crust remain stable while others fracture — a discovery that challenges long ...

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, ...

Forget what you learned in school—Earth might not have seven continents after all. From an early age, most of us are taught to recognize seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Oceania, Europe, ...

The history of Earth's continents might be different from what we first thought. The most popular theory of how the continents formed billions of years ago may not be right, according to a paper in ...

Diamonds can gush to the surface in violent eruptions. These eruptions have baffled scientists as they happen more often after continents break up. A new study provides an explanation, and it could ...

The formation of the Earth’s continents occurred during a fiery afterbirth known as the Archean Eon, which stretched from 4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago. It was in this bubbling cauldron of ...

Researchers have uncovered evidence of a lost continent that lies hidden beneath jungles in Southeast Asia, according to a study. Geoscientists have long suspected that around 155 million years ago a ...

These ancient metamorphic rocks called gneisses, found on the Arctic Coast, represent the roots of the continents now exposed at the surface. The scientists said sedimentary rocks interlayered in ...