Simplified Geologic Time Scale | |||||
Era | Period or System | Epoch or Series | |||
(66 million years ago - Present) characterized by the emergence of the Himalayas (cooling, reduced CO2) also, delineated by the K-T boundary
|
Quaternary
(2 million years ago - Present) characterizted by the appearence of humans |
Holocene
(12,000 years ago - Present) |
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Pleistocene
(2 million - 12,000 years ago) |
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Tertiary
(66 - 2 million years ago) |
Pliocene
(5 - 2 million years ago) |
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Miocene
(24 - 5 million years ago) |
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Oligocene
(37 - 24 million years ago) |
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Eocene
(58 - 37 million years ago) |
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Paleocene
(66 - 58 million years ago) |
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Mesozoic
(250 - 66 million years ago)
|
Cretaceous
(135 - 66 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | |||
Early or Lower | |||||
Jurassic
(205 - 135 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Triassic
(250 - 205 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Paleozoic
(570 - 250 million years ago) |
Permian
(290 - 250 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | |||
Early or Lower | |||||
Carboniferous
(365 - 290 million years ago) |
Pennsylvanian
(310 - 290 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | |||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Mississippian
(365 - 310 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | ||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Devonian
(400 - 365 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Silurian
(425 - 400 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Ordovician
(500 - 425 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Cambrian
(570 - 500 million years ago) |
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Precambrian
(Beginning of earth - 570 million years ago) |
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Table by: Lyn Topinka, USGS/CVO, 1997,
Modified from:
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