Evidence About Earth’s Past (Book)

- Superposition

Superposition refers to the position of rock layers and their relative ages. Relative age means age in comparison with other rocks, either younger or older. The relative ages of rocks are important for understanding Earth’s history. New rock layers are always deposited on top of existing rock layers. Therefore, deeper layers must be older than layers closer to the surface. This is the law of superposition. You can see an example in Figure.

Superposition. The rock layers at the bottom of this cliff are much older than those at the top. What force eroded the rocks and exposed the layers?