The oldest terrestrial materials ever dated by scientists are extremely rare zircon minerals that were discovered in western ...

Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago, during the geological eon known as the Hadean. The name "Hadean" comes from the ...

Researchers say they might have discovered the oldest rocks on Earth. The rocks in question are a belt of swirly, ...

Researchers have published a study that outlines the discovery of three new types of minerals never before catalogued on ...

Rocks and minerals are closely related, but there are fundamental differences between the two. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it ...

After reclassifying all of Earth's minerals based on where and how they formed, geologists ended up with a catalog of more than 10,000 kinds. Search for: Science ...

Rocks older than 4.03 billion years could shed light on Earth's earliest geological history, but they're incredibly rare.

Geologists have long debated whether a stony formation in Canada contains the world’s oldest rocks – new measurements make a ...

The rocks and minerals above are highly toxic yet some may be rather rare. This list does not include natural resources that are physically dangerous to collect.

More than 4,000 naturally occurring minerals—inorganic solids that have a characteristic chemical composition and specific crystal structure—have been found on Earth. They are formed of simple ...

There are three types of rocks — igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic — that have formed over time in the Earth's different layers. A rock can begin as one type and can change many times.

Brantley and her colleagues published their evidence in the journal Science today. Weathering is when rocks and minerals deteriorate under exposure to nature’s elements—water, heat ...