However, there are places where cratons don't follow these rules. "For example, there are regions of high topography within the cratons of South America and Africa," said graduate student and lead ...

A team of researchers challenged the belief that complex life forms first emerged on Earth 635 million years ago, saying life ...

Seismic analyses of the lithosphere, undertaken as part of the Kaapvaal project, provide an unprecedented view of cratons — the earliest parts of continental landmasses.

The Makhonjwa Mountains as seen from the Eureka Viewpoint on the geotrail near Barberton, Mpumalanga, South Africa, July 3, 2018. Wikus De Wet/AFP via Getty Images When and how Earth's earliest ...

South Africa, India and Australia shared similar volcanic activity 3.5 billion years ago Ancient volcanism dating back to 3.5 billion years ago are common to Archaean cratons of South Africa ...

But something about the cratons had long puzzled geologists. Some, such as the Kaapvaal craton in southern Africa, are topped by vast plateaus that are rimmed by dramatic escarpments.

Africa 'ripping apart' as huge continent to see region breaking away faster than expected A 35-mile-long crack was discovered along a section of the East African Rift in Ethiopia.

Earth's first continents, known as the cratons, emerged from the ocean between 3.3 billion and 3.2 billion years ago, a new study hints. This pushes back previous estimates of when the cratons ...