How did land originate?

Answer

Dear Ben,

This is a very good question, but not an easy one to answer. I’ll try to explain this briefly and simply. Be sure to let me know if you don’t immediately understand something.

You should know that the Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago, along with the other planets of our solar system. In the beginning, Earth was little more than a hot fireball full of molten lava. It is not until many millions later that the Earth began to cool and thus formed a crust. So at that time the Earth looked like a sea of ​​lava with a thin crust on top.

Only later did water come to Earth. The most credible theory of how that happened is through meteorite impacts. These had hydrogen with them and so over time (many millions of years again) enough water ended up on Earth and the oceans were created.

Now you should also know that when water reacts with lava/magma, lighter rocks are formed. These float on the heavier rocks (a bit like oil floats on water) and in this way land was gradually created with water around it. Over many millions of years, these landmasses eventually formed the continents we know today: landmasses made up of lighter rocks surrounded by oceans resting on heavier rocks.

The position of the continents has also changed a lot throughout Earth’s history. The continents (which is land) are constantly moving. Even now. Land can also be made up, for example through volcanic eruptions. When the lava comes out of the volcano, it will cause the land to grow. For example, a few new small islands have recently emerged in Japanese waters.

Thomas