A Natural Resource Management Guide for the County of Morris A ...
A Natural Resource Management Guide for the County of Morris A ...
A Natural Resource Management Guide for the County of Morris A ...
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Table One - Geologic Time Scale<br />
ERA PERIOD EPOCH Millions <strong>of</strong> Years Ago Associated Events<br />
Cenozoic<br />
Quaternary<br />
Holocene present - 0.01<br />
Pleistocene 0.01 - 1.6<br />
Pliocene 1.6 -5.3<br />
Tertiary Miocene 5.3 - 23.7<br />
Oligocene 23.7 - 36.6<br />
Glaciers recede;<br />
Climate becomes temperate<br />
Glaciation<br />
Primitive humans; <strong>for</strong>ests flourish<br />
Continents & seas assume present <strong>for</strong>ms<br />
Seas recede<br />
European & Asian land masses join<br />
Mesozoic<br />
Cretaceous<br />
Jurassic<br />
Late 66.4 - 97.5 Extinction <strong>of</strong> dinosaurs<br />
Early 97.5 - 144 Widespread swamps<br />
Late 144 - 163 Dinosaurs thrive; first birds<br />
Middle 163 - 187 Sedimentation <strong>of</strong> Newark basin<br />
Early 187 - 208 Lava flows from Watchung Mtn. Ridges<br />
Formation <strong>of</strong> Newark basin (Piedmont)<br />
Late 208 - 230 Continental drift resulting in rift basins<br />
Triassic Middle 230 - 240 First mammals<br />
Early 240 - 245 Desert conditions dominate; <strong>the</strong>n abate<br />
Permian<br />
Late 245 - 258 Closure <strong>of</strong> Proto-Atlantic; <strong>for</strong>mation <strong>of</strong><br />
Early 258 - 286 Pangea uplifting <strong>of</strong> Green Pond &<br />
Copperas Mountains.<br />
Alleghanian orogeny<br />
Carboniferous Pennsylvanian Late 286 - 320 Evergreen <strong>for</strong>ests flourish<br />
Mississippian Early 320 - 360 First reptiles<br />
Paleozoic<br />
Late 360 - 374 Seas advance<br />
Devonian Middle 374 - 387 First amphibians & insects<br />
Early 387 - 408 Fish abound<br />
Silurian<br />
Late 408 - 421 First leafless land plants<br />
Early 421 - 438<br />
Late 438 - 458 First vertebrates<br />
Ordovician Middle 458 - 478 Taconic orogeny<br />
Early 478 - 505<br />
Late 505 - 523 Shallow seas advance & retreat<br />
Cambrian Middle 523 - 540 Grenville Orogeny<br />
Early 540 - 570<br />
Precambrian<br />
Late 570 - 900 Erosional sedimentation; volcanic activity<br />
Proterozoic Age Middle 900 - 1600 Sea floor spreading <strong>for</strong>ming “Proto-Atlantic”<br />
Early 1600 - 2500<br />
Late 2500 - 3000<br />
Archean Age Middle 3000 - 3400<br />
Early 3400 - 3800?<br />
Sources: Cotterill, Rodney, Editor, The Cambridge <strong>Guide</strong> to <strong>the</strong> Material World, 1985<br />
New Jersey Geological Survey, In<strong>for</strong>mation Circular 1, 1990<br />
The Geological Society <strong>of</strong> America, The Geologic Time Scale, 1983<br />
Wolfe, Peter E., and Crane, The Geology and Landscapes <strong>of</strong> New Jersey, 1977<br />
A <strong>Natural</strong> <strong>Resource</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Guide</strong><br />
<strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Morris</strong> 11
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