Archean Eon: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	Archeozoic Eon • Archaean Eon

Photos

A vertical chart of the Archean eon within the geologic time scale, showing its four subdivisions-Neoarchean, Mesoarchean, Paleoarchean, and Eoarchean-alongside their starting points in millions of years ago, with the Hadean interval beneath and labeled as informal.

Cutaway diagram of a Grand Canyon wall showing layered sedimentary rocks-limestone, shale, sandstone, and composite rocks-with labels indicating Paleozoic rocks (about 252-541 million years old) above older Precambrian rocks, which include Proterozoic (541 million to 2.5 billion years old) and Archean (over 2.5 billion years old) layers. The Colorado River is shown at the base.

A detailed geologic time scale chart displaying Earth's history from the Hadean Eon over 4.5 billion years ago to the present, organized by eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages with color-coded columns and corresponding dates in millions of years.

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Topics

Vishnu Schist Scourian Complex Yellowknife Group Napier Complex Late Archean Era Sebakwian Group Barberton belt Ancient Gneiss Complex Keewatin Series Witwatersrand System Proterozoic Eon Hadean Eon

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Precambrian: Archean crustal growth