Oldest rocks in the world from the Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt near Inukjuak, Hudson Bay, Canada

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Faux-amphibolite rocks at Porpoise Cove, near Inukjuak, Hudson Bay, northern Canada. These rocks were dated at billion years old in 2008, which makes them the oldest rocks in the world. Geologists believe they were formed originally as volcanic lavas erupted at the bottom of an ocean. They have been heavily metamorphosed and now consist of highly deformed amphibolite-type rocks. However, the main mica mineral is cummingtonite, not biotite, which is why they have been termed faux-amphibolites. The prominent purple minerals are garnets.

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Size: 5200px × 3467px
Photo credit: © David Hutt / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: , 2009, alamy, amphibolite, ancient, bay, belt, billion, canada, cove, faux, garnet, greenstone, hudson, inukjuak, mcgill, minerals, nuvvuagittuq, oldest, porpoise, rocks, sep, university, world, years