Illustration of geological time

Jun 11, 2009 by     8 Comments    Posted under: Culture, Life




The United States Geological Survey put out this illustration of geological time that is worth sharing.  It starts from nothing, and then spirals up showing the evolution of species and epochs.  It is today’s Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Day.  Click on it to make it huge and get more detail; it’s well worth it.  For instance, in the Devonian Period–right in the center of the picture–you can see a little amphibian starting to crawl out of the water:

Geological Time Spiral

Hey Andy Schlafly: like I said, the image is PD, so you can upload it to Conservapedia.


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8 Comments + Add Comment

  • Eleanor June 11, 2009 at 11:53 am

    What a gorgeous and interesting picture. Even more so when enlarged. Thanks for sharing. :)

    Reply
  • redincolorado June 11, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    Hogwash! Everyone knows that God created the Heavens and Earth in 6 days. Geesh!

    Reply
    • David Shankbone
      Twitter:
      June 11, 2009 at 12:51 pm

      Well, if you believe Conservapedia, that’s true:

      Young earth creationists believe that the earth is approximately 6,000 years old…. Though this view is controversial within the larger scientific community because most scientists don’t acknowledge the Bible as an historical authority. Despite this, many recent studies by creation scientists have corroborated geologic events with their Biblical accounts, such as the Great Flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah, and the crossing of the Red Sea[13].

      My favorite part? The citation represented by the “[13]” takes you to the ultimate authority on geologic time….the San Francisco Bath Salts Company!

      Reply
  • Eleanor June 12, 2009 at 11:13 am

    But how is a ‘day’ defined? Perhaps not as it is now. Could be many millenia,even eons, so that could work too.

    The blue got me too. My favorite color.

    Reply
  • David Shankbone
    Twitter:
    June 12, 2009 at 11:22 am

    Yes, the two blues, combined with that auburn color for the animals and the color I can’t describe for all the plants. Really, a nice symphony. I might try to contact them to find out who chose the scheme.

    Reply
  • Lena
    Twitter:
    June 12, 2009 at 1:39 pm

    The ultimate authority on geological time is very appropriate! :) The shades of blue are very…”green”. Remind me of geography lessons in school (when all was peaceful).

    Reply
    • David Shankbone
      Twitter:
      June 13, 2009 at 10:25 am

      I thought about Catholic grade school wall charts, Lena – the kind that would be rolled and pulled down with a chain. I don’t even know if they have those anymore.

      Reply

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