Stromatolites

Recently, a large outcrop of stromatolites — dating back 600 million years — were unearthed in the pine-clad ridges of Chambaghat in Solan district.

• Stromatolites are reef-like structures built by ancient cyanobacteria in shallow seas, document this evolution.

• They are sometimes known as ‘algal mats’ and occur mostly in shallow water environments. These ancient structures offer a window into a time when Earth’s atmosphere was dominated by greenhouse gases, and oxygen was nonexistent.

• Their presence in the Himalayas, far from any current coastline, reveals a story of tectonic shifts, lost oceans, and the microbial origins of life. Stromatolites are living fossils, the oldest life forms on Earth.

• Found across India — from the Vindhyas and Cuddapah Basin to the limestone ridges of the Himalayas — these mineralised mounds chronicle a time when oxygen did not yet exist, and continents had not yet collided. Now,