A Table Rock Geology PrimerOutward Bound Staff Training

Michael Follo

Foliation resulting from directed stress

Major Events in the History of Earth and Life

mybp

Age of the Earth 4600

Oldest known Rocks 4000

Oldest known Fossils (single-celled algae, bacteria) 3500

Oxygen-rich atmosphere 2500

First multi-cellular organisms (metazoans) 600

Cambrian Explosion 540

First land plants/animals 400

Appalachians Form (Table Rock!) 300

Earliest Dinosaurs 275

Permo-Triassic Extinction 248

First Mammals 200

Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction (Dinos, etc.) 65

Rockies Form 50

Earliest hominids 4

Earliest Homo sapiens 0.25

Last Ice Age 0.01

“Geologic Year”

1 calendar year (365 days) = 4.6 billion years

1 “day” = 12.6 million years

January 1 Origin of the Earth

February 14 Oldest known rocks

April 1 Oldest known fossils

October 31 Cambrian Explosion

November 25 First land plants/animals

December 1 Appalachians form

December 7 First Dinosaurs

December 25 Dinosaurs extinct!

December 26 Rockies form

December 31

5:00 pm First Hominids

11:30 pm First Homo sapiens

11:58 pm Last ice age

11:59::57 Voyage of Columbus