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Geologic Time Scale
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What is the geologic time scale?
Time-line of Earth’s history Breaks down Earth’s history into units of time
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Eras are the largest unit of time. Precambrian Paleozoic Mesozoic
Cenozoic Eras are divided into smaller parts called periods. Periods are then divided into even smaller parts called epochs.
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Era Period Epoch
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Precambrian Era Earliest span of time in Earth’s history.
No life for a long time and then very simple life appears. Early life influenced by volcanoes and mountain building
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Precambrian (cont.) Oldest rock 4 bya Single-celled organisms 3.6 bya
Canadian Shield formed 3.6 bya (bya= billion years ago)
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Paleozoic Era Took place after Precambrian Era
“Age of Fishes”: living organisms only existed in the seas Early invertebrates and amphibians (first animals to live on land) Tropical climates allowed growth of new species Forests of trees developed
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Paleozoic Era (cont.) Formation of Appalachian Mountains in eastern Canada Mass extinction at end of era when 80% of marine invertebrates disappeared Cause of extinction is not clear, but may be related to formation of Pangaea
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Mesozoic Era Beginning of the break up of Pangaea
North American plate collides with Pacific Plate: formation of Coast Range, then Rocky Mountains “Age of Reptiles” Reptiles, small mammals, dinosaurs and small birds
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Mesozoic Era (cont.) Warm climate in Canada
Creation of coal, oil and gas in western Canada Era ended with mass extinction by asteroid or climate change 50% of all plant and animal species (including dinosaurs) became extinct.
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Cenozoic Era The Era we are currently in!!! “Age of Mammals”
Mammals, flowering plants Canada experienced an Ice Age with four periods of glacial activity First humans
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Cenozoic Era We still have much diversity but could there be a mass extinction to come???
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Formation of Canada Let’s draw…
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