User talk:Rwflammang/Geologic time scale

Geologic time scale
Eon / Era / Period / Epoch / Age

Precambrian
See Timeline of the Precambrian


 * Theia strikes Proto-earth.
 * Priscoan Eon. To 3.8 Ga. Also called Hadean. Earth and moon form.
 * Archean Eon. 3.8 to 2.5 Ga. Earth solidifies.
 * Eoarchean Era. 4.0 - 3.6 Ga. Oldest rocks.
 * Paleoarchean Era. 3.6 - 3.2 Ga. cyanobacteria
 * Mesoarchean Era. 3.2 - 2.8 Ga. Stromatolites. Vaalbara broke up. Ur (continent) assembles.
 * Neoarchean Era. 2.8 - 2.5 Ga. Great Oxygenation Event
 * Proterozoic Eon. 2.5 Ga to 542 Ma.
 * Paleoproterozoic Era. 2.5 - 1.6 Ga. First aerobic life. Oxygen. Oldest surviving mountains. Arctica assembles.
 * Mesoproterozoic Era. 1.6 - 1.0 Ga. Sexual reproduction. Rodinia breaks up. Columbia (supercontinent) forms.
 * Neoproterozoic Era. 1000 - 542 Ma. Ice sheets reach the equator during the Cryogenian. Pannotia forms.

Phanerozoic



 * Phanerozoic Eon. 545 Ma to present.
 * Paleozoic Era. 542 - 251 Ma.
 * Cambrian Period. 542 - 488 Ma. Explosion of complex aquatic life.
 * Ordovician Period. 488 - 444 Ma. Very high sea levels. Land plants.
 * Silurian Period. 444 - 416 Ma. Ordovician–Silurian extinction event. Greenhouse effect. Plants diversify.
 * Devonian Period. 416 - 359 Ma. Fish emerge on land. Plants have leaves, roots, and seeds.
 * Carboniferous Period. 359 - 299 Ma. Glaciation. Coal.
 * Permian Period. 299 - 251 Ma. Amniotes diversify into mammals, turtles, lepidosaurs (lizards and snakes), archosaurs (crocs, dinos, pterosaurs).
 * Mesozoic Era. 251 - 65 Ma. Also called the Secondary superperiod. Permian–Triassic extinction event.
 * Triassic Period. 251 - 200 Ma. Africa joins Pangaea. Pterosaurs.
 * Jurassic Period. 200 - 146 Ma. Pangaea breaks into Laurasia and Gondwana. Allosaurus and Stegosaurus.
 * Cretaceous Period. 146 - 65 Ma. Marine reptiles, dinosaurs, and flowers. High sea levels.
 * Caenozoic Era. 65 Ma to present. See below.
 * Tertiary Period. 65.5 - 2.6 Ma. See below
 * Quaternary Period. 2.6 Ma to present. See below.

Last Era of the Phanerozoic Eon



 * ... Phanerozoic Eon, 545 Ma to present.
 * Cenozoic Era. 65.5 - 0.0 Ma
 * Tertiary period. 65.5 - 2.6 Ma: Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene
 * Quaternary Period. 2.59 - 0.00 Ma: Pleistocene, Holocene


 * Paleogene Period, or Lower Tertiary. 65.5 - 23.0 Ma: Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene
 * Neogene Period, or Upper Tertiary. 23.0 - Present. Sometimes the term Neogene excludes the Quaternary: Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, Holocene


 * Paleocene Epoch. 65.5 - 55.9 Ma. Temperate climes at the poles.
 * Eocene Epoch. 55.8 - 33.9 Ma. First modern mammals. Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
 * Oligocene Epoch 33.9 - 23.0 Ma. Eocene-Oligocene extinction event.
 * Miocene Epoch. 23.0 - 5.3 Ma. Ice Ages.
 * Pliocene Epoch. 5.3 - 2.6 Ma. Climate cooled to modern levels.
 * Pleistocene Epoch. 2588 - 12 ka. Extinction of megafauna, austrolopitheci, and most homines. Quaternary glaciation.
 * Paleolithic Age
 * Holocene Epoch. 12 - 0 ka. Interglacial in the current ice age. Homo sapiens dominate.
 * Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic Ages. Pre-agriculture.
 * Neolithic Age. Agriculture.
 * Bronze Age
 * Iron Age

Periods of the Paleozoic Era

 * Cambrian
 * Ordovician
 * Silurian
 * Devonian
 * Carboniferous
 * Permian

Periods of the Mesozoic Era

 * Triassic
 * Jurassic
 * Cretaceous

Epochs of the Cenozoic Era

 * Paleocene
 * Eocene
 * Oligocene
 * Miocene
 * Pliocene
 * Pleistocene
 * Holocene