The Earth's initial rock cycle began with primordial basaltic crust
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
confidence 85/100
Geological evidence and experimental models widely support the consensus that Earth's earliest crust was predominantly basaltic, serving as the protocrust from which later continental formations evolved.
Evidence for · 4
Deep formation of Earth’s earliest continental crust consistent with subduction
2023 · cited by 36
Paper notes that Earth's outer layer around four billion years ago is thought to have been composed mostly of a basaltic crust.
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More for · 3
Dominance of felsic continental crust on Earth after 3 billion years ago is recorded by vanadium isotopes
2023 · cited by 22
Paper states that Earth's earliest crust may have been basaltic by analogy with ancient crusts of other terrestrial planets.
Interstep compatibility of a model for the prebiotic synthesis of RNA consistent with Hadean natural history.
2025 · cited by 3
Paper describes geological environments constrained by basalt as part of Hadean natural history.
Subduction origin of the Nb anomaly in Earth’s oldest continents
2025 · cited by 3
Paper discusses how Earth's oldest continental crust formed through partial melting of thick Hadean basaltic crust.