the geological record indicates that the earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago.
the geological record indicates that the earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago.
when does the geological record indicate that the earth formed?
about 4.54 billion years ago
geological history of earth









































the geological history of earth follows the major events in earth's past based on the geological time scale, a system of chronological measurement based on the study of the planet's rock layers (stratigraphy). earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago by accretion from the solar nebula, a disk-shaped mass of dust and gas left over from the formation of the sun, which also created the rest of the solar system.
geological history of earth
however, there was a movement amongst geologists (particularly marine geologists) to also include ongoing geological time (quaternary) in the neogene, while others (particularly terrestrial geologists) insist the quaternary to be a separate period of distinctly different record. the somewhat confusing terminology and disagreement amongst geologists on where to draw what hierarchical boundaries is due to the comparatively fine divisibility of time units as time approaches the present, and due to geological preservation that causes the youngest sedimentary geological record to be preserved over a much larger area and to reflect many more environments than the older geological record. by dividing the cenozoic era into three (arguably two) periods (paleogene, neogene, quaternary) instead of seven epochs, the periods are more closely comparable to the duration of periods in the mesozoic and paleozoic eras.
neogene