Question

What can rocks tell us about Earth's history?

Answer 1

Tonnes! (pardon the pun) - including its age, past climate conditions, past depositional settings and much more.

Explanation:

Rocks tell us a great deal about the Earth's history. Igneous rocks tell of past volcanic episodes and can also be used to age-date certain periods in the past. Sedimentary rocks often record past depositional environments (e.g deep ocean, shallow shelf, fluvial) and usually contain the most fossils from past ages. Metamorphic rocks tells us about plate tectonic movements and how the continents were shoved together and pulled apart. Meteorites from space are among the oldest rocks in the solar system and tells us the age and formation of the early Earth.