User:JamesKellerWhite/Paleoarchean

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The Paleoarchean (/ˌpeɪlioʊɑːrˈkiːən/), also spelled Palaeoarchaean (formerly known as early Archean), is a geologic era within the Archaean Eon. The name derives from Greek "Palaios" ancient.

It spans the period of time. The era is defined chronometrically and is not referenced to a specific level of a rock section on Earth.

The Dresser Formation, located in the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia, contains samples of sedimentary rock from the Paleoarchean Era. Inside the rocks, there are microbial mats containing the oldest ascertained life form of fossilized bacteria, old. Similarities between the Barberton Greenstone Belt and the Pilbara Craton indicate that the two formations were once joined as part of the supercontinent Vaalbara, one of Earth's earliest supercontinents.

About 3.26 billion years ago, a large asteroid, about 37 to 58 km (23–36 mi) wide, collided with the Earth creating the Barberton greenstone belt. The Barberton Greenstone Belt, now located in South Africa and Swaziland, contains well-preserved volcanic, shallow-intrusive, and sedimentary rocks.