timeline

• Geology: Study of the earth’s crust and the

  forces that interact with it
• 4 eras: Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic
• When did the Precambrian era begin?

  4.6 billion years ago
• How long was the Precambrian era 


  Lasted – 87.6% of the earth’s history
• Precambrian events:

  • Precambrian Shields are formed
  • Canadian Shield was formed
  • Mountainous area 
  • Highest peaks - 12 000 m above sea level
  • Taller than any mountains that exist today
• Biological Events (Precambrian) :

  • First single-celled organisms
  • First multi-celled organisms
• when did the Paleozoic Era begin

  544 million years ago
• when did the Paleozoic Era End

  245 million years ago
• How long was the Paleozoic era


  Lasted – 7.1% of the earth’s history
• Paleozoic events:

  • Large parts of North America is covered by shallow seas
  • Geologists believe that North America was located near the equator
  • formation of Pangaea during this era
  • Appalachians formed
• Biological events (Paleozoic era)

  • Age of amphibians and fish
  • First insects
  • Large swamps – coal formed from this vegetation
  • First plants and animals appear on land
  • Mass extinction between the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras (80% of sea life became extinct)
• When did the Precambrian era end?

  543 million years ago
• When did the Mesozoic era begin

  245 million years ago
• When did the Mesozoic era end

  66 million years ago
• how long did the Mesozoic era last

  3.9% of the earth’s history
• Geological Events (Mesozoic)

  • Innuitian Mountains formed
  • Shallow seas in the interior of North America at various times
  • Pressure from the weight of the rock, bacteria and heat changed the plant and animal remains into oil and gas
  • Vegetation in the swamps was compressed to form coal deposits
  • Formation of the Rocky Mountains BEGINS
  • Break up of Pangaea
• Biological Events (Mesozoic)

  
  

  • Age of reptiles

  
  

  • Age of dinosaurs

  
  

  • First flowering plants
  • First birds and mammals
  • Another mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic era
• When did the Cenozoic Era begin?

  66 million years ago
• When did the Cenozoic Era end?


  ongoing today
• how long did the Cenozoic Era last?

  1.4% of the earth’s history
• Geological Events (Cenozoic era)

  • Ice sheets cover much of North America
  • Continents take on their present shape
  • Formation of the Rocky Mountains is COMPLETED
• Biological Events (Cenozoic Era)

  
  

  • Human beings develop
  • Age of mammals
  • Modern forms of life evolve