Geological Time Periods and Formations in Georgia, Quizzes of Forestry

Download Geological Time Periods and Formations in Georgia and more Quizzes Forestry in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Cambrian Period DEFINITION 1 600 mya: Georgia was part of the ocean floor Most of N. America except Canada under water We know this because of the thick layers of limestone rock containing fossils occur in N. Georgia The limestone precipitated out of the seawater and combined with the shells of the organisms to form the limestone deposits. TERM 2 Ordovician Period DEFINITION 2 450 mya: caused a continental shift, either Africa or a rigid seafloor plate collided with the N. American plate This collision squeezed the sediments up into a mountain range, folding and faulting them and partially metamorphosing them into the Acadian Mountains (occupied the current Northern half of Georgia Over the next 100 my these mountains eroded, pouring sediments into the sea both to the north and south Thick sand laid down in shadow waters was cemented into sand- stone later forming Sand- Mountain at GA/Tn line TERM 3 Carboniferous Era DEFINITION 3 -375 mya: interior of N. America was covered in dense swampy forests of ancient plants that deposited thick layers of peaty materials which later formed the coal deposits of Ky, Tn and N. GA and Al.-Depositional coastal plain of sediments had formed from the remnants of the Acadian Mt.-African plate collided eastern part of N. America again--> coastal sediments were squeezed and metamorphosed into the Appalachians mtn--> Piedmont covered in Magma (remained connected for 100my, until Triassic Period 220mya when Africa receded and ocean met GA shore) TERM 4 Cretaceous Period DEFINITION 4 100mya: rise in sea level inundated most of GA except the higher mtn areas limestone laid down in much of the southern half of GA, often full of fossilized sea animals Meteor hit Mexico- Dinosaurs extinct TERM 5 Tertiary Period DEFINITION 5 30 mya: ocean covered and regressed coastal plains; limestones and marls, sands, and clay beds were deposited Fall-line formed: sediments eroded Piedmont exposing metamorphic rocks Flatwoods of GA exposed over last few hundred thousand years (made up of sands, gravels and clay bed associated with the ancient shoreline) during Pleistocene ice ages when glaciers formed causing drop in sea level