Figure 1 | Proposed model for the stabilization of the lower crust in cratons. Reimink and Smye 1 modelled the evolution of Earth’s crust at cratons — the strong and ancient cores of continents.

A study reveals that the oldest continental crust on Earth is slowly being broken up by shifting tectonic forces.

Ancient, expansive tracts of continental crust called cratons have helped keep Earth's continents stable for billions of years, even as landmasses shift, mountains rise and oceans form. A new ...

Scientists discover hidden "ghost plume" beneath Oman using earthquake data, revealing Earth's secret heat pathways.

Cratons, the formerly stable parts of Earth's crust, are breaking down. The Week. US Edition. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE. Less than $3 per week.

Cratons are believed to be the longest-lived regions of the Earth, but a new study shows how dynamic processes can cause their eventual disintegration.

Cratons are the most ancient, stable pieces of tectonic plates, but even these geological formations can change over time. A new study details how the North American plate is “dripping” into ...

Cratons are some of Earth’s oldest and most stable structures. They formed no later than the Proterozoic era, over 540 million years ago, and some are even older, dating back over 2 billion years.

The best place to look for ancient craters is in regions of the Earth known as cratons—large, geologically stable stretches ...

At the center of this story lie the cratons, large blocks of mostly crystalline rock that typically occupy the interiors of continents. They are the oldest fragments of Earth’s crust, with many ...

An artist's conception of the Earth as it may have appeared 466 million years agoOliver Hull/Monash University If astronomers had been walking the Earth 466 million years ago, they may have had ...

Earth and its "evil twin" Venus are very different today, with the latter lacking plate tectonics. New research indicates Venus may have been much more like our planet than we suspected.