Scientists on Thursday informed that they have been successful in tracing the oldest rocks on this planet, which might have formed nearly 4.28 billion years ago. The rocks situated at a pinkish tract of bedrock on the eastern shore of Canada's Hudson Bay, were formed soon after the Earth came into being. 

Jonathan O'Neil of McGill University in Montreal, informed regarding these rocks, “The rocks may be remnants of Earth's primordial crust, which formed on the planet's surface as it cooled following the birth of the solar system.”

He further added during his interview over phone, “Maybe it was the original crust, and before that there was no stable crust on the Earth. That's a big question.”

Northern Quebec contains the expanse, which measures about 4 square miles (10 square km) and consists of the volcanic rock blast. The method of isotopic dating, which analyzes the elements samarium and neodymium was used by the geochemists to determine the age of the rocks. 

This discovery has been published in the journal Science, and the scientists are hopeful that this discovery can help them better understand what the planet like when it had just formed. The solar system was formed nearly 4.57 bn years ago, including earth, and the rocks which have been found were formed some 290 million years later. 

“Certain characteristics of the rocks suggest that water was already present on the Earth's surface. Scientists debate when oceans first appeared and whether water formed on the planet or was brought here when icy comets struck it,” reported Richard Carlson of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. 

“The nature of the rocks also gives clues as to temperatures when they formed. When the planet first formed, it was probably a cauldron, but 290 million years later it had cooled down to something not dramatically different from today -- probably hotter but not dramatically hotter,” Carlson said further.

However, no traces of life were detected by the scientist. 

O’ Neil said, “We know that probably the right environment was there for life to be on the Earth, liquid water and all it takes to have life. Now was there life? This is a big question mark.”