The Stenian: A Super Old Time!

The Stenian was a super, super long time ago, from 1.2 billion to 1 billion years ago. That's way, way before dinosaurs! It's named after special rocky places that formed back then. Think of it as a chapter in Earth's giant storybook, right after the Ectasian chapter and before the Tonian chapter.

During the Stenian, all the land on Earth decided to get together and form a giant supercontinent called Rodinia. Imagine all the continents we know today squished into one HUGE landmass! This giant puzzle piece stayed together for a long time, like a big hug for the planet.

Guess what? The very first living things that could reproduce by making babies, like plants and animals do today, showed up during the Stenian! One of them was a tiny, simple organism called Bangiomorpha pubescens. It was like the first tiny seed that could grow into more tiny seeds!

Around 1.1 billion years ago, something amazing happened: a giant crack started to form in the Earth's crust! This crack is called the Keweenawan Rift. It's like a huge scar on the planet, showing how the land was changing and stretching during this ancient time.