The Geological Timeline tells, through words and pictures, the story of the Earth from its formation 4600 million years ago to the present day. It describes the key events in the evolution of life, from its earliest stages to the emergence of humans, and goes on to consider what the future may hold for the Earth’s environment and all its inhabitants. The Geological Timeline can be viewed online or as free download.

The concept of geological time can be difficult to grasp. It is hard enough to understand the long periods of time involved in human history: the activities of the Egyptians 4000 years ago, or the Vikings 1000 years ago. If one thousand years is a long time, how can we comprehend one thousand million years? But not only is it possible, it is intellectually stimulating. Geological time means large numbers and it is necessary to break down these vast periods of time into more manageable pieces. The solar system is about half way through its life, so the Geological Timeline scales geological time to that of a middle-aged person; we consider the Earth not as a planet 4600 million years old, but as a person 46 years old today.

The Geological Timeline introduces the question— what of the future? It is interesting to debate what the world’s environment might be in another million or 4000 million years. Will humans still exist? What organisms might evolve? How will it all end?

The Timeline is interactive you can move forward or back in time, exploring at your own pace. When you reach the end, test yourself with the Timeline quiz or try your hand at one of the games. For more information on some of the fossils described, see our Fossil Focus pages.

Please read our software disclaimer before using the Geological Timeline.

To view the Geological Timeline online you will need a Flash-enabled browser. If your browser is not Flash enabled we recommend updating to the latest version. Alternatively, you can download the free Adobe Flash Player plug-in.

See also