GEOL 1001 Chapter : Chapter 10 Notes - "How Old Is Old?" (Pt. 1 & 2)
Document Summary
Relative age- based upon order of formation: whether one geologic feature is older or younger than another, older vs younger relationships (ex: sister is 3 years older than me) Numerical ages- actual number of years since an event: age assigned is a number (ex: i am 18 years old) Earth history is recorded in strata sedimentary record. Missing strata= missing history: ex: the grand canyon, thick layers of strata, numerous gaps, only a partial record of geologic history. Because of unconformities, the geologic record at any given location is incomplete. Stratigraphic column- summary of geologic information at a particular location (region); depicted as a sequence of sedimentary strata. Drawn to scale to accurately portray relative thicknesses. Rock types are depicted by graphical fill patterns. Correlation- age relationship between strata at one locality and the strata at another. Similar rock types occur in a similar order. The same rock layers contain the same distinctive fossils.
