WOW!!
Hi Board
Km high tides... that's a mind blower! The erosion must've been incredible.
I'd say there would be a lot of dissipation of tidal energy in the Earth's solid body until the Moon had backed off a fair way - the outward spiral would've been pretty quick. Then once the oceans did most of the energy loss things would slow down.
What do you think of the ice-ball Earth ideas that have been bounced around lately? You mention a cold "origin of life" scenario in your White Mars pages. Was Earth chilly for the first few billion years?
Adam