The geologic time scale (GTS) is a system of chronological

dating that relates geological strata (stratigraphy) to time. It is

used by geologists, paleontologists, and other Earth
scientists to describe the timing and relationships of events
that have occurred during Earth's history.
 What is Dating?
• When geologists date rocks, they are
determining how long ago they formed.
• Two ways to do this:
– Relative Dating
– Absolute Dating
 Relative Dating
• Determining how old something is
compared to something else
• Use words like “older” or “younger”
instead of exact numbers
 What can we learn from this?
• Absolute Dating
– Helps us determine the age of the earth
– Helps us determine when specific events in
the history of the earth happened (ex.
Extinction of the dinosaurs)
• Relative Dating
– Can help us estimate the time span
between major earthquakes, storms,
tsunamis etc
– Can help us determine the order that life
forms developed on earth