SmithLifeScience
Geologic Time Comparisons
Geologic Time in One Year
January 1 is 4.6 bya
March: oldest known
rocks are formed
Late March: first forms of life (bacteria and algae) are preserved as fossils
September 3: first multi-celled creatures (seaweed) appear
November 11: Phanerozoic Eon (most recent eon) begins
December 5: Reptiles appear
December 14: first mammals appear
December 26: Dinosaurs go extinct
5 PM on December 31: first hominids (human-like ancestors) appear
11:48 PM on December 31: first modern humans (Homo sapiens) appear
11:58:45 p.m. on December 31: The last glacier receded
11:59:30 on December 31: Written history begins
3 seconds before midnight
You were born 1/10th of a second before midnight
Geologic
time as the distance from Los Angeles to New York City:
The distance from LA to NYC is approximately 4500 kilometers (km). Therefore, each
kilometer represents one million years of Earth history. Look at a map of the United
States. Start the geologic time journey in LA.
Precambrian would last until Pittsburgh
Paleozoic would be entirely in Pennsylvania
Mesozoic would get us to New Jersey, only 66 km from NYC.
The most recent Ice Age
ended about 10,000 years ago. 10,000 years
The past 2000 years of history would be represented by a sidewalk (2 meters)
A human lifespan would be half of the width of a curb (100 millimeters)