Geologic Time Scale
Era
Period
Began Ended
(million years ago)
Major Events
(million years ago)Cenozoic
Quaternary
Tertiary
1.6 Present
65 1.6
Major Glaciers in North America and Europe (1.5)
Rocky Mts. (65) Individual Continents Take Shape
Mesozoic
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
146 65
208 146
245 20
Dinosaurs Extinct (65) Western Interior Seaway and Marine Reptiles (144-65) Pangaea (One Land Mass) Begins to Break Up (200) First Mammals and Dinosaurs Paleozoic Permian Pennsylvanian Mississippian Devonian Silurian Ordovician Cambrian 290 245
322 290
362 322
408 362
439 408
510 439
545 510
Greatest Extinction on Earth (245) First Reptiles Coal-Forming Forests First Land Animals and First Forests (408) Life Invades Land First fish Great Diversity of Marine Invertebrates Precambrian Proterozoic Archean 2,500 545
4,600 2,500
Marine Fossil Invertebrates (600)
Earliest Fossils Recorded (3,500) Earliest Rocks (4,000)
Mi
d
-L
ate
Pr
ec
am
b
ri
an
Str
o
m
ato
lite
s
5"Mi
d
-L
ate
Pr
ec
am
b
ri
an
C
o
n
t
Str
o
m
ato
lite
s
6"
Increasing Oxygen
A
R
es
u
lt
o
f
Ph
o
to
sy
n
th
es
is
Mi
d
-L
ate
Pr
ec
am
b
ri
an
C
o
n
t
7"V
ery
La
te
Pre
ca
mb
ria
n
V
er
y
L
ate
Pr
ec
am
b
ri
an
C
o
n
t
Mu
lti
ce
llu
la
r
O
rg
an
is
m
s
9"V
er
y
L
ate
Pr
ec
am
b
ri
an
C
o
n
t
A
n
in
te
rp
re
ta
ti
o
n
o
f
V
en
d
ia
n
li
fe
10"Ea
rly
Pa
le
ozo
ic
11"
C
am
b
ri
an
L
ife
(Ea
rl
y
Pa
le
o
zo
ic
)
Ea
rl
y
C
am
b
ri
an
Cloudina
Olenellus
C
am
b
ri
an
L
ife
B
u
rg
es
s
Sh
al
e
F
au
n
a
13"
C
am
b
ri
an
L
ife
L
ife
o
n
th
e
Se
a
F
lo
o
r
14"
15"
O
rd
o
vi
ci
an
L
ife
Tr
ilo
b
ite
Brachiopods
O
rd
o
vi
ci
an
L
ife
L
ife
o
n
th
e
Se
a
F
lo
o
r
17"
Jawless Fish
O
rd
o
vi
ci
an
L
ife
Ea
rl
y
F
is
h
18"
Si
lu
ri
an
L
ife
Tr
ilo
b
ite
Ea
rl
y
L
an
d
Pl
an
ts
19"
Mi
d
d
le
D
ev
o
n
ia
n
L
ife
L
ife
o
n
th
e
Se
a
F
lo
o
r
Mi
d
d
le
D
ev
o
n
ia
n
L
ife
Devonian Fish
21"
Mi
d
d
le
D
ev
o
n
ia
n
L
ife
D
u
n
kl
eo
ste
u
s
22"
D
ev
o
n
ia
n
L
ife
Te
tr
ap
o
d
s
V
as
cu
la
r
Pl
an
ts
23"
Mi
d
d
le
D
ev
o
n
ia
n
L
ife
L
ife
o
n
L
an
d
25"
L
ate
Pa
le
o
zo
ic
L
ife
Pl
an
t
L
ife
(Sw
am
p
s)
R
ep
ti
le
s
26"
27"
Ea
rl
y
an
d
Mi
d
d
le
Me
so
zo
ic
L
ife
F
ly
in
g
R
ep
ti
le
s
(Pte
ro
sa
u
rs
)
Ma
ri
n
e
R
ep
ti
le
s
(I
ch
th
yo
sa
u
rs
)
Ea
rl
y
an
d
Mi
d
d
le
Me
so
zo
ic
L
ife
Ea
rl
y
Ma
m
m
al
s
29"
W
. W
. N
ort
on
Ea
rl
y
an
d
Mi
d
d
le
Me
so
zo
ic
L
ife
Ea
rl
y
B
ir
d
s
(
A
rc
h
ae
o
p
te
ry
x
)
Dinosaurs
(Sa
u
ro
p
o
d
s)
30"31"
C
re
ta
ce
o
u
s
L
ife
Dinosaurs
F
lo
w
er
in
g
Pl
an
ts
L
ate
Me
so
zo
ic
(C
re
ta
ce
o
u
s)
L
ife
33"D
ive
rs
it
y Curve
of L
ife
T
hrough t
im
e
M ode rnM
as
s
E
xt
inc
ti
ons
E vol ut iona ry F auna s P al eoz oi c Ca m bri an E nd O rdovi ci an ! E nd D evoni an ! P erm o-T ri as si c ! Jura ss ic ! E nd Cre ta ce ous ! 34"E
n
d
C
re
tac
e
o
u
s
M
as
s
E
x
ti
n
ct
io
n
D ec can T rap s F lood Bas al t !35% of al
37"
Ma
m
m
al
s
Ea
rl
y
C
en
o
zo
ic
L
ife
38"
Ma
m
m
al
s
L
ate
C
en
o
zo
ic
L
ife
39"
Hominids
L
ate
C
en
o
zo
ic
L
ife
Climate Change
(3.2 & 3.3 in textbook)
Evidence for Repeated Glaciations
1.
2.
3.
Vocabulary
Glacier
Glacial Erratic
Drumlin
Esker
Kettle Lake
Calving
How Have Glaciers Shaped Alberta?
POSSIBLE CAUSES OF GLACIATIONS:
Cause
Description
Illustration
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
When di
d
Alberta look like th
2
. F
o
ss
il
s
5
3
. G
la
ci
al
L
an
d
fo
rm
s
6
G
la
ci
al
E
rr
at
ic
: a
b
o
u
ld
er
c
ar
ri
ed
a
n
d
d
ro
p
p
ed
b
y a
ic
e
sh
ee
t d
u
ri
n
g
t
h
e l
as
t i
ce
a
g
e
7
D
ru
m
li
n
: A
t
ea
rd
ro
p
-sh
ap
ed
h
il
l s
h
o
w
in
g
t
h
e
d
ir
ec
ti
o
n
t
h
e i
ce
s
h
ee
t
ad
van
ced
.
Ic
e s
h
ee
ts
le
av
e c
h
ar
ac
te
ri
st
ic
la
n
d
fo
rm
s l
ik
e:
E
sk
er
s:
A
lo
n
g
s
n
ak
in
g
h
il
l.
K
et
tl
e L
ak
e:
A
sm
al
l l
ak
e.
9
T
h
e l
as
t g
la
ci
at
io
n
(
W
is
co
n
si
n
G
la
ci
at
io
n
)
10
11
13
14
15
Ic
e a
cc
u
m
u
la
te
s
at
t
h
e c
en
tr
e o
f
th
e i
ce
s
h
ee
t,
t
h
en
fl
o
w
s o
u
tw
ar
d
t
o
th
e s
ea
.
C
al
vi
n
g
: b
ig
c
h
u
n
ks
o
f i
ce
b
re
ak
o
ff
t
o
fo
rm
ic
eb
er
g
s.
17
18
M
o
u
n
ta
in
G
la
ci
er
s f
lo
w
s
lo
w
ly
d
o
w
n
h
il
l.
19
W
h
en
t
h
e m
as
s o
f s
n
o
w
a
n
d
ic
e g
et
s h
ea
vy
en
o
u
g
h
it
f
lo
w
s d
o
w
n
h
il
l.
A
s i
t f
lo
w
s,
it
e
ro
d
es
th
e l
an
d
sc
ap
e.
G
la
ci
er
s l
ea
ve
c
h
ar
ac
te
ri
st
ic
la
n
d
fo
rm
s.
-U
-s
h
ap
ed
v
al
le
ys
21
•
A
s t
h
e i
ce
f
lo
w
s i
t
sc
ra
p
es
u
p
r
o
ck
s a
n
d
ca
rr
ie
s t
h
em
a
lo
n
g
.
•
W
h
en
it
m
el
ts
, i
t l
ea
ve
s
p
il
ls
o
f t
h
es
e r
o
ck
s a
n
d
sed
imen
ts
22
23
25
26
27
29
30
31
W
h
at
c
au
se
s g
la
ci
at
io
n
s?
1
) C
h
an
g
es
in
t
h
e a
m
o
u
n
t o
f e
n
er
g
y g
iv
en
o
ff
b
y t
h
e s
u
n
.
(w h en t h er e a re m o re s u n sp o ts , t h er e i s m o re e n er g y f ro m t h e s u n) 33