Each continent has its own unique geological character, shaped by millions of years of tectonic activity, erosion, and natural transformation. In North America, for instance, the Canadian Shield exposes some of the oldest rocks on Earth—mainly ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks like granite and gneiss that date back over 3 billion years. To the west, you’ll find younger sedimentary formations across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, rich in fossils and mineral deposits. Meanwhile, South America boasts volcanic regions along the Andes, where basalt and andesite are common, and vast stretches of Amazonian sandstone that tell stories of prehistoric riverbeds.
Across the oceans, each landmass reflects its own history beneath the surface. Africa is known for its expansive cratons of granite and basalt as well as valuable mineral-bearing metamorphic rocks, especially in regions like South Africa’s gold and diamond belts. Europe features limestone and chalk in its western plains, granites in the Scottish Highlands, and marble and schist shaped by Alpine uplift in the south. Asia, the largest continent, presents everything from volcanic rocks in Indonesia’s islands to jade-bearing metamorphic rocks in Myanmar and China. Meanwhile, Australia combines ancient Archaean rocks in its interior with vibrant sedimentary deposits along its coastlines, while Antarctica’s icy surface hides metamorphic and igneous foundations akin to those of early Gondwana—remnants of a supercontinent that once united much of the world’s land.