What is the oldest object on the surface of the Earth, and where can it be found.?

Answer 1

Harrison and his colleagues recently analyzed minerals called zircons in ancient rocks found deep in the Australian desert known to be the oldest rocks on Earth.

The findings are in contrast to conventional theories that early Earth was either moonlike or dominated by oceans. Those theories hold that continental crust didn't form until 4 billion years ago, more than 500 million years after the planet formed.

Despite the findings of Harrison and his colleagues, several scientists still support the conventional theories and Chris Fedo, a geologist at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, asks laconically: "If the early Earth was full of continents, where are all the ancient rocks? We know continental crust is incredibly hard to get rid of. It's a very durable object," Fedo said. "We have relics that go back up to four billion years, and yet why are there not whole strings of it earlier than that?"

Harrison admits his team's findings are controversial, but he says they paint a picture of an early Earth where active and rapid geological processes?called plate tectonics?would have recycled most of the earliest continental crust and he adds; "If you'd come in a spacecraft 4.4 billion years ago, Earth would have looked a lot like it does today."

Answer 2

Just about all of the oldest rocks found on the surface of the Earth, excepting certain meteorites which date back to the time of solar system formation (which can be found anywhere on Earth), have been found in Australia. Here's a link to one of the oldest pieces ever found, again in Australia. The other place where really old rocks are found are in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Both places are continental shields that have been relatively undisturbed since the formation of the first continents.

Answer 3

The water we drink everyday is the same water that has been here since the begining of time. Whenever that was. There will never be more, or less water on earth. It has to be the oldest thing here.

Answer 4

its not just in the north west territories, the shield does go down into manitoba and saskatchewan as well. the shields are the roots of ancient mountains, around 3 billion years old i believe.

however moon rocks would likely be older also meterites could be older still.

Answer 5

propably meteorites or rocks from Australia or Canadian Shield