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It covers roughly 539 million years. During this period continents drifted apart, but eventually collected into a single landmass known as Pangea, before splitting again into the current continental landmasses. [citation needed] The Phanerozoic is divided into three eras – the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic.
According to one reconstruction, [29] when Rodinia broke up, it split into three pieces: proto-Laurasia, proto-Gondwana, and the smaller Congo Craton. Proto-Laurasia and proto-Gondwana were separated by the Proto-Tethys Ocean. Proto-Laurasia split apart to form the continents of Laurentia, Siberia, and Baltica. Baltica moved to the east of ...
The history of Earth is divided into four great eons, starting 4,540 mya with the formation of the planet. Each eon saw the most significant changes in Earth's composition, climate and life. Each eon is subsequently divided into eras, which in turn are divided into periods, which are further divided into epochs.
Map of Pangaea with modern continental outlines. The supercontinent cycle is the quasi-periodic aggregation and dispersal of Earth's continental crust.There are varying opinions as to whether the amount of continental crust is increasing, decreasing, or staying about the same, but it is agreed that the Earth's crust is constantly being reconfigured.
In the year 540 BC, Xenophanes described fossil fish and shells found in deposits on mountains. Similar fossils were noted by Herodotus (about 490 BC). [2] [3] [4]Some of the first geological thoughts were about the origin of the Earth.
Late heavy bombardment of the Moon (and probably of the Earth as well) by bolides and asteroids, produced possibly by the planetary migration of Neptune into the Kuiper belt as a result of orbital resonances between Jupiter and Saturn. [5] "Remains of biotic life" were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia.
In 2012, scientists exploring blue holes in the Bahamas discovered bacteria deep in the caves where no other life existed, potentially filling the knowledge “gap” on what types of lifeforms ...
The union of all of Earth's continents into a single land mass changed the way the atmosphere and oceans circulated. This left what is now the eastern US with a hot climate and pronounced seasons. [46] Much of the country was located at about 30 latitudinal degrees North, where there tends to be high atmospheric pressures and little precipitation.