Geological

• The Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old
• The Earth was covered with a thick blanket of ice, had lots of volcanoes and high mountains, large organisms roamed the land, the atmosphere did not have high oxygen content, asteroids/meteors frequently hit the surface, the lands moved a lot or the continents were a little closer to each other, there were volcanic eruptions, it was a little bit warmer, plants were bigger, and humans were not yet around
• Man first appeared on Earth about 100 - 150 thousand years ago as shown by artefactual evidences in various sites
• The Earth's history is divided into eons, eras, periods, and epochs
• EON: largest division of the geologic time scale; spans hundreds to thousands of million of years ago
• ERA: division in an Era that spans time periods of tens to hundreds of millions of years
• PERIOD: a division of geologic history that spans no more than one hundred million years
• EPOCH: the smallest division of the geologic time scale characterized by distinctive organisms
• The Precambrian life covers approximately 88% of the Earth's history
• During the Precambrian era, the Earth transformed from a ball of gas and dust to liquid rock enveloped with hot, non-breathable gases
• The Earth became more conducive to life and allowed single-celled cyanobacteria to exist
• Fossils of Coronacollina acula date back as far as 560 million years, showing the existence of hard body parts and spicules
• The Proterozoic era was greatly affected by the movement of tectonic plates forming the supercontinent Rodinia
• The production of oxygen by cyanobacteria caused a drastic change in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to the domination of aerobic eukaryotes
• The Paleozoic Era started more than 540 million years ago and lasted for more than 300 million years
• This era is divided into six periods: Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian
• The break-up of supercontinent Rodinia into continents Gondwana and Laurentia occurred during this era
• The largest mass extinction in history occurred during the Paleozoic Era
• The Mesozoic Era started 245 million years ago and lasted for 180 million years
• This era is subdivided into three periods: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous
• The era of dinosaurs dominated the Mesozoic Era
• The Cretaceous period ended with a mass extinction event thought to be brought about by the collision of an asteroid or comet with Earth
• The Cenozoic Era started 65 million years ago and continues up to the present time
• This era is divided into three periods: Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary
• The Cenozoic Era is known as the Age of Mammals
• The first hominids appeared during this era, with early modern humans emerging in the Pleistocene epoch
• The Cenozoic era was significantly affected by a major extinction event that occurred between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago
• New ecosystems appeared due to continuous geological processes, including the evolution of life forms like grasses and coral reefs
• The Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old
• The Earth was covered with a thick blanket of ice, had lots of volcanoes and high mountains, large organisms roamed the land, the atmosphere did not have high oxygen content, asteroids/meteors frequently hit the surface, the lands moved a lot or the continents were a little closer to each other, there were volcanic eruptions, it was a little bit warmer, plants were bigger, and humans were not yet around
• Man first appeared on Earth about 100 - 150 thousand years ago based on artefactual evidence
• The Earth's history is divided into eons, eras, periods, and epochs
• EON: largest division of the geologic time scale; spans hundreds to thousands of million of years ago (mya)
• ERA: division in an Era that spans time periods of tens to hundreds of millions of years
• PERIOD: a division of geologic history that spans no more than one hundred million years
• EPOCH: the smallest division of the geologic time scale characterized by distinctive organisms
• The Precambrian life covers approximately 88% of the Earth's history
• During the Precambrian era, the Earth transformed from a ball of gas and dust to liquid rock enveloped with hot, non-breathable gases
• The Earth became more conducive to life and allowed single-celled cyanobacteria to exist
• The Paleozoic Era started more than 540 million years ago and lasted for more than 300 million years