The Earth's Layers of Rock Tell a Story

The Earth's layers tell a story about the events that have happened in the Earth's history and can give scientists important clues about when these events happened. Scientists look at the different layers of the Earth, which build up over time, millions and billions of years, in fact. You may have seen these layers yourself when riding in the car on a trip! These layers can be seen all around you, and are also more prominent in different areas of the planet. Check out these pictures of layers of rocks: All of these pictures are of layers of rock in the state of Virginia.

This is a cut-away near the Radford area of Virginia.

This is an example of different types of layering of rocks. This was taken in northern Virginia.

Again, you can see the different layers of rock alongside this road, located in the Valley and Ridge region of Virginia. Deep inside these layers of rock are many stories about the Earth's history.

Scientists use a method called radiometric dating, where they analyze a sample from the Earth's crust and study it to figure out the age of each layer of rock. Within these layers scientists discover many things. They find different types of rocks and the rocks form many patterns; sometimes straight across, but sometimes the pattern zig zags, indicating perhaps an earthquake. Many forms of life are found in these layers of rock as well. Scientists discover fossils of all types of plants and animal life. It is amazing the stories that can be told from studying the layers of rocks around our planet.
Please take a minute to view this slide show that illustrates some of the amazing views of Earth and her amazing "rock" story.

The Geologic History of the Earth on PhotoPeach