Geologic Time - Relative Age Determination

Relative age determination

A rock layer may or may not contain evidence that reveals its age. Rock layers whose ages are defined by relationships with the dated rock units around it are examples of relative age determination. That relationship is found by observing the unknown rock layer's stratigraphic relationship with the rock layers whose ages are known. If the known rock layer is on top of the unknown layer, then the lower layer is probably the older of the two. That is based on the principle of superposition, which states that when two rock layers are stacked one above the other, the lower one was formed before the overlying one, unless the layers have been overturned.