Starling murmuration over the ruins of Brightons West Pier, England Jan 8, 2026

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, United States, 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.

© Philip Reeve/Photodisc/Getty Images

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Today in History

Where we go to play
Jan 8, 2024Bernina Pass, Graubunden, Switzerland
Jan 8, 2025Great Wall of China

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May 8, 2024Marseille welcomes to Olympic torch
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Sep 19, 2025Thousand Islands region, St. Lawrence River, USA-Canada border
May 2, 2024Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, USA
Oct 3, 2026Brown bear, Alaska, United States
Aug 28, 2023Dubrovnik, Croatia
Sept 17, 2026Santenay wine region, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France
Nov 21, 2024Lion cubs, South Africa
Nov 12, 2024Vineyards in Varnhalt, Black Forest, Germany
Oct 3, 2025Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Pearl among the emeralds
Mar 21, 2026International Day of Forests
All is calm
Nov 1, 2023Haut-Barr Castle, Vosges
Is anybody home?
Jan 25, 2024Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Feb 9, 2026Amur leopard cat, Russia
Jun 24, 2025Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah, United States
76 glorious years of independence
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Feb 20, 2025Red deer, Canada
Like sands through the hourglass
Jun 12, 2026European bee-eater in Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, Cádiz, Spain