During the Archean eon,
molten material from the Earth's mantle was erupted by volcanoes and the first (micro)
continents are supposed to have emerged out of a
Hadean primeval ocean.
Ur
is believed to be the first known continent that probably formed
3 billion years ago followed by Arctica (2,5 Ga), Atlantica (2 Ga) Baltica (2 Ga) and Nena (1,8 Ga).
Fragments of Archean continents can nowadays be found all over the world, among others in the
Brazilian
Atlantic Shield
in the
São Francisco Craton
or the
Mantiqueira Province.
