The Geologic Time Scale |
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Phanerozoic Eon
(544 million years ago - Present)
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Era | Period or System | Epoch or Series | ||||
(65 million years ago - Present)
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Quaternary
(1.8 million years ago - Present)
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Holocene
(8,000 years ago - Present)
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Pleistocene
(1.8 million - 8,000 years ago)
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Tertiary
(65 - 1.8 million years ago)
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Pliocene
(5.3 - 1.8 million years ago)
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Miocene
(23.8 - 5.3 million years ago)
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Oligocene
(33.7 - 23.8 million years ago)
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Eocene
(55.5 - 33.7 million years ago)
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Paleocene
(65 - 55.5 million years ago)
|
Era | Period or System | Epoch or Series | ||
Mesozoic
(248 - 65 million years ago)
|
Cretaceous
(145 - 65 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | ||
Early or Lower | ||||
Jurassic
(213 - 145 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | |||
Middle | ||||
Early or Lower | ||||
Triassic
(248 - 213 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | |||
Middle | ||||
Early or Lower |
Era | Period or System | Epoch or Series | |||
Paleozoic
(544 - 248 million years ago)
|
Permian
(286 - 248 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | |||
Early or Lower | |||||
Carboniferous
(360 - 286 million years ago)
|
Pennsylvanian*
(325 - 286 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | |||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Mississippian*
(360 - 325 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | ||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Devonian
(410 - 360 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Silurian
(440 - 410 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Ordovician
(505 - 440 million years ago)
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Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower | |||||
Cambrian
(544 - 505 million years ago)
|
Late or Upper | ||||
Middle | |||||
Early or Lower |
Precambrian
(Beginning of earth - 544 million years ago)
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Resources:
Table by: Lyn Topinka, USGS/CVO, 1997, 2000, 2001 Mostly modified from: "U. S. Geological Survey, Paleontology website: http://geology.er.usgs.gov/paleo/", with additional comments from other sources (listed below)
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