The Archean Eon
The Archean Eon existed between 4 billion and 2.4 billion years ago. Throughout this time, the Earth’s crust cooled enough for continents to form. The name comes from the ancient Greek Αρχή (Arkhē), meaning “beginning” or “origin”.
Source: Carl Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980)
Image by Tim Bertelink under CC BY-SA 4.0 license
Back to archive
Full disclosure, I may occasionally borrow a sentence from Will Durant's Story of Civilization. I absolutely love that collection!