Download 1 billion years ago

4.5 BILLION YEARS AGO
A- mars-sized planet hit earth, sending debris into orbit around
earth. A fraction of that debris formed the moon and the rest
returned to earth.
1 BILLION YEARS AGO
As ancient Europe (“Baltic”) and Brazil (“Amazonia”) collided with
Proto-North America, sedimentary and igneous rocks
Were deformed and metamorphosed to produce the rocks of the
Grenville Mountains. These are the oldest rocks found in
Connecticut.
460 MILLION YEARS AGO
The Taconic Mountains, part of the Appalachian mountain chain,
formed when volcanic islands and ocean sediments collided with
North America.
380 MILLION YEARS AGO
The rocks of the Appalachian Mountains continued to form as a
continental mass earth scientists call “Avalonia” collided with
eastern North America.
350-250 MILLION YEARS AGO
The supercontinent Pangaea (meaning “all lands”) was formed
when all the continents came together. During this time, the
Appalachian mountains continued to form. The mountains were
as high as the Himalayas are today, reaching elevations of
20,000-30,000 feet above sea level.
230-210 MILLION YEARS AGO
The breakup of Pangaea started as the supercontinent began to
drift apart, ultimately creating the Atlantic Ocean basin.
200 MILLION YEARS AGO
As Pangaea continued to break up, some smaller rifts
perpendicular to the main rift did not open completely, producing
failed rift valleys like Connecticut’s central valley (Newark
Terrain). The famous
Brownstones of Connecticut are made from sediments that were
deposited in the rift valley. The flood basalt lavas that erupted
along the rifts are now preserved as traprock ridges. One lava
flow was about 200 meters (over 600 feet) thick! Dinosaurs
roamed the Connecticut valley and left footprints along the muddy
margins of rift valley lakes. One type of large footprint is named
eubrontes and is the Connecticut state fossil.
65 MILLION YEARS AGO
A 10-kilometer diameter asteroid struck Earth near the Yucatan
Peninsula (chicxulub crater) in the Gulf of Mexico. Many earth
scientists think that the resulting cataclysms caused a mass
extinction that wiped out many species, including dinosaurs like
tyrannosaurus rex.
25,000 YEARS AGO
A glacier during the Wisconsinan glacial period covered
Connecticut. The ice may have been several kilometers (over a
mile) thick in places.
20,000 TO 12,000 YEARS AGO
The glaciers melted, uncovering Connecticut. The terminal
moraines that were left behind formed; Long Island, Block Island,
Martha ’s Vineyard and Nantucket.