Old Rock Day Jan 7, 2026

Old Rock Day

Today is a day that puts time into perspective. Old Rock Day highlights the vast geological processes that have shaped our world since its earliest eras. In Arches National Park, Utah, Turret Arch—seen through North Window—offers a striking reminder: landscapes can take hundreds of millions of years to assemble. The Entrada Sandstone that forms these arches began as shifting dunes and shallow seas long before erosion carved today"s shapes. Even so, these formations are relatively young. Most rocks on Earth disappear over time because plate tectonics, erosion, and volcanism continually recycle the crust. Only the planet"s ancient continental shields preserve truly old material. Canada"s Acasta Gneiss, about 4 billion years old, is the oldest known rock still rooted where it formed.

© Jim Patterson/TANDEM Stills + Motion

palette

Today in History

Jan 7, 2019An avian predator built for the snow
Jan 7, 2020Jupiter and the Galilean moons
Jan 7, 2021Of balloons and lost pantaloons
Jan 7, 2022Nazaré Lighthouse
Jan 7, 2023Yarn for Distaff Day
Jan 7, 2024Old Rock Day
Jan 7, 2025Moeraki Boulders, South Island, New Zealand

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul 19, 2019A place fit for the gods
Sep 10, 2023Grandparents Day
Oct 9, 2020Falling for Tennessee
Mar 1, 2020Casting a vote for women s history
Jun 27, 2021Bathing in the light of Pride
Jul 1, 2025Happy Canada Day!
Nov 27, 2025Happy Thanksgiving!
Nov 9, 2024Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
Jun 2, 2025National Garden Week begins today
Dec 26, 2021Happy Boxing Day!
Oct 24, 202075 years of the United Nations
Jun 27, 2020Looking for peace on the precipice
Nov 29, 2025Red deer stag in De Hoge Veluwe National Park, Netherlands
Sep 8, 2024International Literacy Day
Dec 1, 2021Antarctica Day
Jul 6, 2021The most Instagrammable bird?
Apr 14, 2025National Dolphin Day
Jul 22, 2023National Hammock Day
Dec 5, 2018’Chess on ice’
Aug 18, 2021Pearl of the Adriatic
Jan 25, 2018Sami lavvu structures, Finnmark, Norway
Jul 26, 2018Exploring the wilder side of New York
Apr 30, 2024Cheetah in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Mar 31, 2018Cherry blossoms at the National Mall, Washington, DC
Aug 8, 2023Infinity Day
Jul 7, 2019Traffic jam on the caribou highway
Nov 8, 2025Bandon Beach in Bandon, Oregon
Aug 24, 2024Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument anniversary
Dec 11, 2024International Mountain Day
Jan 4, 2020Celebrating whales—and a whale of a tale