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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Nov 23, 2024Fibonacci Day
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Ever seen garlic bloom?
Mar 26, 2025Manatee in Crystal River, Florida, United States
Aug 28, 2025Great white egret, Hungary
There’s more to Pisa than leaning towers
Red rock country
Jul 19, 2024A young jaguar on a riverbank, Pantanal, Brazil
Nov 16, 2025A traboule in Lyon, France
So fresh, so clean
Jan 6, 2025Flooded crypt, Basilica of San Francesco, Ravenna, Italy
The Coast of Death
Oct 11, 2023The Painted Hills, Oregon
As curious about you as you are about them
Dec 21, 2024Happy winter solstice!
Jun 12, 2025Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas, United States
Nov 5, 2025Guru Nanak Gurpurab
Nov 15, 2023Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden
Sep 24, 2023World Rivers Day
Jul 7, 2025Northern gannets, Shetland Islands, Scotland
A public restroom or a tourist spot?
Jan 29, 2024Gollinger Waterfalls, Salzburg, Austria
Oct 18, 2025Neolithic site of Silbury Hill, Tilshead, Wiltshire, England
Jan 28, 2025Short-eared owl
Jan 29, 2025Chinese New Year
Jul 21, 2024Kendwa village, Zanzibar, Tanzania
Jan 25, 2025Porto, Portugal
May 3, 2025Happy International Astronomy Day!