A new study suggests that the Earth's first continents, known as the cratons, emerged from the ocean between 3.3 billion and 3.2 billion years ago.
This new study has challenged the widely accepted view that the continents rose from the oceans about 2.5 billion years ago.
It has also found that the earliest continental landmass to emerge may have been Jharkhand’s Singhbhum region.
The study found sandstones in Singhbhum with geological signatures of ancient river channels, tidal plains and beaches over 3.2 billion years old, representing the earliest crust exposed to air.
The granites that form the continental crust of the Singhbhum region are 3.5 to 3.1 billion years old.
The sandstones tell us ‘when the first landmasses were formed’ and the granite tells us ‘how the first landmasses were formed’.