Isua Greenstone Belt
| Isua Greenstone Belt | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 35 km (22 mi) |
| Geography | |
| Country | Greenland |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Archean |
| Rock type(s) | tonalite, mafic rocks, metasedimentary rocks, banded iron formations, granite and granodiorite |
The Isua Greenstone Belt is an Archean greenstone belt in southwestern Greenland, aged between 3.7 and 3.8 billion years. The belt contains variably metamorphosed mafic volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and is the largest exposure of Eoarchaean supracrustal rocks on Earth. Due to its age and low metamorphic grade relative to many Eoarchaean rocks, the Isua Greenstone Belt has become a focus for investigations on the emergence of life and the style of tectonics that operated on the early Earth.