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Geological time)
A timeline of geologic periods in accordance with the dates and nomenclature proposed by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.
(not shown to scale)
| Years Ago3,6
| Epoch
| Period/Age4,5
| Era
| Eon
| Major Events
|
| Present day
| Holocene
| Quaternary
| Cenozoic
| Phanerozoic
| End of ice age and rise of modern civilization
|
| 11430
| Pleistocene
| Extinction of many large mammals. Evolution of fully modern humans
|
| 1.81 million
| Pliocene
| Tertiary
| Neogene
|
|
| 5.33 million
| Miocene
|
| 23.0 million
| Oligocene
| Paleogene
|
| 37.2 million
| Eocene
| Appearance of first "modern" mammals
|
| 55.8 million
| Paleocene
|
|
| 65.5 million*
|
| Cretaceous
| Mesozoic
| Dinosaurs reach peak, become extinct. Primitive placental mammals
|
| 146 million
| Jurassic
| Marsupial mammals, first birds, first flowering plants
|
| 200 million
| Triassic
| First dinosaurs, Egg-laying mammals, breakup of Pangea into Gondwana and Laurasia
|
| 251 million*
| Permian
| Paleozoic
| Permian extinction event- 95% of life on Earth becomes extinct
|
| 299 million
| Carboniferous1
| Pennsylvanian
| Abundant insects, first reptiles, coal forests
|
| 318 million
| Mississippian
| Large primitive trees, first land vertebrates
|
| 359 million
| Devonian
| First amphibians, clubmosses and horsetails appear, progymnosperms (first seed bearing plants) appear
|
| 416 million*
| Silurian
| First vascular land plants, first jawed fish
|
| 443 million*
| Ordovician
| Invertebrates dominant, first land plants
|
| 488 million*
| Cambrian
| Major diversification of life in the Cambrian explosion
|
| 542 million*
| Ediacaran
| Neoproterozoic
| Proterozoic2
| First multi-celled animals
|
| 630 million*,8
| Cryogenian
| Possible snowball Earth period, Rodinia begins to break up
|
| 850 million
| Tonian
| First acritarch radiation
|
| 1.0 billion
| Stennian
| Mesoproterozoic
| Formation of Rodinia
|
| 1.2×109
| Ectasian
|
|
| 1.4×109
| Calymmian
|
| 1.6×109
| Statherian
| Paleoproterozoic
| First complex single-celled life
|
| 1.8×109
| Orosirian
| Transition to oxygen atmosphere
|
| 2.05×109
| Rhyacian
|
|
| 2.3×109
| Siderian
|
| 2.5×109
|
| Neoarchean
| Archaean2
|
| 2.8×109
| Mesoarchean
|
| 3.2×109
| Paleoarchean
|
| 3.6×109
| Eoarchean
| Simple single-celled life
|
| 3.8×109
|
| Hadean2,7
| 4.1×109 - Oldest known rock;
4.4×109 - Oldest known mineral;
4.57×109 - Formation of Earth
|
1) In North America, the Carboniferous is subdivided into Mississippian and Pennsylvanian Periods.
2) The Proterozoic, Archean and Hadean are often collectively referred to as Precambrian Time, and sometimes also as the Cryptozoic.
3) Dates are slightly uncertain with differences of a few percent between various sources being common. This is largely due to uncertainties in radiometric dating and the problem that deposits suitable for radiometric dating seldom occur exactly at the places in the geologic column where we would most like to have them. Dates with an * are radiometrically determined based on internationally agreed to GSSPs. The dates quoted above are according to the International Commission on Stratigraphy 2004 time scale. All dates given are for the end of the interval in question.
4) Paleontologists often refer to faunal stages rather than geologic Periods. The Stage Nomenclature is quite complex. See Harland (http://flatpebble.nceas.ucsb.edu/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=startScale) for an excellent time ordered list of faunal stages. Also see the article on GSSPs.
5) In common usage the Tertiary-Quaternary and Paleogene-Neogene-Quaternary Periods are treated as equivalents to the Mesozoic and Paleozoic Periods. The term 'Period|Age' (e.g. 'Neogene Period|Age') is sometimes used instead of 'Period'.
6) The time shown in the "Years Ago" column is that of the end of the interval named beside it.
7) Hadean was sometimes called Priscoan.
8) The GSSP for the base of the Ediacaran, ratified in 2004, is a climatic/geochemical marker rather than biostratigraphic. It represents the end of a widespread glaciation event.
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from:-2500 till: -545 text:Proterozoic
from:-3800 till: -2500 text:Archaean
from: start till: -3800 text:Hadean
bar:era color:era
from: -64.3 till: 0 text:C~z shift:(0,1.5)
from: -251.1 till: -64.3 text:Meso~zoic shift:(0,1.5)
from: -545 till: -251.1 text:Paleo~zoic shift:(0,1.5)
from: -900 till: -545 text:Neoprote-~rozoic shift:(0,1.8)
from:-1600 till: -900 text:Mesoproterozoic
from:-2500 till: -1600 text:Paleoproterozoic
from:-2800 till: -2500 text:Neo-~archean shift:(0,1.5)
from:-3200 till: -2800 text:Meso-~archean shift:(0,1.5)
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from:-3800 till: -3600 text:Eo-~arch-~ean shift:(0,2)
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from: -1.6 till: 0
from: -64.3 till: -1.6
from: -146 till: -64.3
from: -208 till: -146
from: -251.1 till: -208
from: -286 till: -251.1
from: -360 till: -286
from: -408.5 till: -360
from: -443.5 till: -408.5
from: -490 till: -443.5
from: -545 till: -490
from: -620 till: -545 text:Ed.
from: -850 till: -620 text:Cryo-~genian
from: -1000 till: -850 text:Ton-~ian
from: -1200 till: -1000 text:Sten-~nian
from: -1400 till: -1200 text:Ect-~asian
from: -1600 till: -1400 text:Calym-~mian
from: -1800 till: -1600 text:Stath-~erian
from: -2050 till: -1800 text:Oro-~sirian
from: -2300 till: -2050 text:Rhy-~acian
from: -2500 till: -2300 text:Sid-~erian
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from: -251.1 till: -64.3 text:Mesozoic
from: -545 till: -251.1 text:Paleozoic
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from: -1.6 till: 0
from: -64.3 till: -1.6 text:Tertiary
from: -146 till: -64.3 text:Cretaceous
from: -208 till: -146 text:Jurassic
from: -251.1 till: -208 text:Triassic
from: -286 till: -251.1 text:Permian
from: -360 till: -286 text:Carboniferous
from: -408.5 till: -360 text:Devonian
from: -443.5 till: -408.5 text:Silurian
from: -490 till: -443.5 text:Ordovician
from: -545 till: -490 text:Cambrian
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from: -23 till: -1.6 text:Neo-~gene shift:(0,0.5)
from: -64.3 till: -23 text:Paleo~gene shift:(0,0.5)
from: -286 till: -251.1 # mark end of Paleozoic
from: -325 till: -286 text:Pennsyl-~vanian shift:(0,0.5)
from: -360 till: -325 text:Missis-~sippian shift:(0,0.5)
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from: -23 till: -1.6 text:Neogene
from:start till: -23 text:Paleogene
bar:epoch color:epoch
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from: -1.6 till: -0.1 text:P
from: -5 till: -1.6 text:Plio~cene shift:(0,1) fontsize:6
from:-23 till: -5 text:Miocene
from:-38 till:-23 text:Oligocene
from:-55 till:-38 text:Eocene
from:start till:-55 text:Paleocene
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See also
References
cy:Cyfnodau Daearegol
da:Jordens historie
de:Geologische Zeitskala
et:Geokronoloogiline skaala
es:Geología histórica
eo:Tera Biografio
fr:Échelle des temps géologiques
it:Ere geologiche
nl:Geologisch tijdvak
ja:地質時代
pl:Tabela stratygraficzna
sv:Geologisk tidsskala
uk:Геохронологічна таблиця
zh:地质时代
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