Earth’s Continental Plates Began Moving 3.48 Billion Years Ago, New Evidence Shows

Analysis of ancient magnetic crystals has yielded the most compelling and earliest evidence to date of Earth’s plate tectonics. This groundbreaking finding indicates that the planet’s continental plates were in motion 3.48 billion years ago, a crucial geological process believed to be fundamental in making Earth habitable. The discovery pushes the known timeline for the initiation of plate tectonics back by a significant 140 million years.