1 / 31

The Geologic Time Scale

The Geologic Time Scale. Sections of time. ERA Two or more geological periods comprise an era, which is hundreds of millions of years in duration.

hallam
Download Presentation

The Geologic Time Scale

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Geologic Time Scale

  2. Sections of time • ERATwo or more geological periods comprise an era, which is hundreds of millions of years in duration.

  3. PERIODThe period is the basic unit of geological time in which a single type of rock system is formed, lasting tens of millions of years.EPOCHAn epoch is a division of a geologic period; it is the smallest division of geologic time, lasting several million years.

  4. Eon- Era- Period- Epoch- Age. Humans as we know ourselves appeared in the Pleistocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period in the Cenozoic era of the Phanerozoic Eon…..

  5. Pre Cambrian time • 4.6 Billion years ago- 542 MA • Earth Forms • Stromatolites are dominant life form

  6. Paleozoic Era • 542 to 251 mya • Multicellular life!!

  7. Paleozoic, Cambrian, • 488-542 MA • Trilobites dominate • many phyla develop. • “Cambrian Explosion”

  8. Paleozoic, Ordovician, • 488 to 444 mya • North America is under shallow sea. • Modern Oxygen rich atmosphere develops • Vertebrates Develop

  9. Paleozoic, Silurian • 444 MA 416 MA • First Land Plants and Animals

  10. Paleozoic, Devonian, • 416 MA -359 MA • First amphibians • Age of fishes

  11. Paleozoic, Carboniferius, Missippian • 359 MA – 318 MA • Amphibians Flourish • Forests and swamps cover land

  12. Paleozoic, Carboniferius, Pennsylvanian • 318 MA – 299 MA • Giant flying insects • First Reptiles, ROAR!!

  13. Paleozoic, Permian • 299 MA – 251 MA • Pangea comes together

  14. Mesozoic Era • "The Age of Reptiles"251 MA to 65.5 MA

  15. Mesozoic, Triassic • 251 MA – 200 MA • Dinosaurs appear • Mammals appear

  16. Cycads and conifers dominate

  17. Mesozoic, Jurassic • 200 MA- 146 MA • Dinosaurs are the dominant animal. • Primitive vertebrate flight, first birds

  18. Mesozoic, Cretaceous, • 146-65.5MA • Flowering plants appear (angiosperms) • Modern Birds • All good until……

  19. K-T Extinction • 65MA • Kills off Dinosaurs • Asteroid or volcano • Iridium rich dust….

  20. Cenozoic Era "The Age of Mammals"65.5 mya through today Continents at present locations

  21. Cenozoic, Tertiary, Paleocene Tertiary- 65-55.8 mya Paleocene- age on mammals begins First Primates

  22. Cenozoic, Tertiary, Eocene • 55.8-33.9 mya • Rodents appear. Primitive whales appear.

  23. Cenozoic, Tertiary,Oligocene • 33.9-23 mya • Dogs and cats appear! • But they did not look like that -

  24. Cenozoic, Tertiary, Miocene • 23-5.3 MA • Due to high abundance of grasses, herds of large mammals abound.

  25. Cenozoic, Tertiary, Pliocene • 5.3-1.8 • First hominids (australopithecines). Modern forms of whales. Megalodon swam the seas • Hominid- where humans and apes split

  26. Lions Tigers and Bears…. • Appear in the Pliocene

  27. Cenozoic, Quauernary, Pleistocene • Quaternary Period"The Age of Man"1.8 mya to today • Pleistocene- The Last Ice Age1.8-.012 ma • Humans (Homo sapien) appear. You better remember this!

  28. Mammoths, saber-toothed cats,

  29. Quaternary, Holocene • 11,500 ya to today • Marked by complex human civilization • Ice melted, and sea level rose 140 m!

More Related