Topic: Geological History of NY State
Take out ESRT pages 8 & 9
Take out you ESRT open to pages 8 & 9
Geological History of New York State
Division of Geological Time
Largest
Unit
Smallest
Unit
Eon: an indefinitely long period of time.
Precambrian4600 Ma to 570 Ma
Phanerozoic570 Ma to
present
Ma means million of years ago
ERAS are broken down to Time Periods.
The Phanerozoi
c Eon is divided
into time segments
called ERAS.
Paleozoic 570 Ma to 245 Ma
Cenozoic 65 Ma to present
Mesozoic 245 Ma to 66.4 Ma
Time Periods are broken down into
Epochs.
Life on Earth
Rock Record in
NYS
Time Distribution of
Fossils
Important Geological
Events in NYS
Positions of Earth’s
landmasses
Different periods in the ESRT
Precambrian Eon 85% of Earth’s history intense volcanic activity; oceans form; meteorite
bombardment atmosphere develops from primitive through out-
gases from volcanoes to one with free oxygen (and ozone layer)
life begins with unicellular organisms (blue-green algae and bacteria) and evolves to multi-cell organisms like worms
few fossils exist because most did not have hard parts
Precambrian Events listed on ESRT
Oldest Events
Mesozoic 245 Ma to 65 Ma
Cenozoic 65 Ma to present
Paleozoic 570 Ma to 245 Ma
Why do we know more about the phanerozoic than the Precambrian, if the Precambrian was a larger span of time?
Paleozoic Era = Ancient Life
Cambrian Period
Mesozoic Era = Middle Life
Cenozoic Period = Recent Life
Age of the Mammals
Time Distribution of Fossils
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