EVENT	YEARS BEFORE PRESENT (approx)	DISTANCE
The present	0
Ice ages begin	1 million	1 cm
Beech forests in Antarctica	3 million
Antarctica ice cap began expanding Mt Erebus formed	15 million	15 cm
Transantarctic mountains rising	30 - 40 million
Dinosaurs become extinct Transantarctic mountains forming	65 million
A cooling climate	70 million
NZ separated from Gondwana	80 - 100 million
Gondwana breaking up	170 million
Dinosaurs begin to become dominant land animals Lystrosaurus lived in Antarctica	200 million
Mammal like animals appear	210 million
First reptiles	285 million
Ice age	300 - 350 million
First amphibians	370 million
Antarctica near the equator locked into Gondwana	470 million
First vertebrate animals. NZ’s oldest rocks	500 million	5 m
Multi cellular animals evolve	700 million
Oldest known bacteria	3500 million
"Beginnings" of the Earth	4600 million	46m