Old Rock Day Jan 7, 2026

Old Rock Day

Today is a day that puts time into perspective. Old Rock Day highlights the vast geological processes that have shaped our world since its earliest eras. In Arches National Park, Utah, Turret Arch—seen through North Window—offers a striking reminder: landscapes can take hundreds of millions of years to assemble. The Entrada Sandstone that forms these arches began as shifting dunes and shallow seas long before erosion carved today"s shapes. Even so, these formations are relatively young. Most rocks on Earth disappear over time because plate tectonics, erosion, and volcanism continually recycle the crust. Only the planet"s ancient continental shields preserve truly old material. Canada"s Acasta Gneiss, about 4 billion years old, is the oldest known rock still rooted where it formed.

© Jim Patterson/TANDEM Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Jan 7, 2019An avian predator built for the snow
Jan 7, 2020Jupiter and the Galilean moons
Jan 7, 2021Of balloons and lost pantaloons
Jan 7, 2022Nazaré Lighthouse
Jan 7, 2023Yarn for Distaff Day
Jan 7, 2024Old Rock Day
Jan 7, 2025Moeraki Boulders, South Island, New Zealand

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 14, 2020I see one!
Dec 6, 2021Computer Science EDU Week
Jul 25, 2024Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
Aug 20, 2020Up in the Highlands
Feb 6, 20262026 Winter Olympics
Apr 1, 2018Happy Easter from the ‘peeps’ at Bing
Sep 22, 2022First day of autumn
Feb 6, 2020A hint of spring
Jul 14, 2021A different view of sharks
Aug 26, 2018From pirate port to nature preserve
Dec 28, 2024Endangered Species Act
Jun 1, 2025World Reef Awareness Day
Nov 1, 2022Día de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico
Dec 25, 2020Big dreams require a big sleigh
Apr 5, 2022Goðafoss waterfall, Iceland
Jul 16, 2020Summertime in Alaska
Mar 30, 2022Belted Galloway cows
Oct 4, 2020Infrared Jupiter, erupting Io
Jul 5, 2018Does it swim in slow motion too?
Nov 2, 2021Day of the Dead
Sep 28, 2019This view is brought to you by…
Mar 4, 2018Australian baobab tree, Kimberley region, Western Australia
Mar 18, 2024Elephant Rock, Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia
Jul 3, 2018To the 155th on the 155th
Jun 1, 2020The largest living organism on Earth
Aug 12, 2020King of the dinosaurs
Mar 24, 2024Silvereyes in South Korea
Jan 30, 2022Halo around the sun
Apr 28, 2022Fox kits
Jan 24, 2022Manhattan