TABLE OF CONTENTS | Era | Period | Epoch | Millions of years ago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cenozoic | Quaternary [*] | Holocene | 0.01 |
| Pleistocene | 0.01 1.8 | ||
| Tertiary [*] | Pliocene | 1.8 5.1 | |
| Miocene | 5.1 24.6 | ||
| Oligocene | 24.6 38.0 | ||
| Eocene | 38.0 54.9 | ||
| Palaeocene | 54.9 65.0 | ||
| Mesozoic | Cretaceous | ? | 65 144 |
| Jurassic | Epoch names | 144 213 | |
| Triassic | ? | 213 248 | |
| Palaeozoic | Permian | 248 286 | |
| Carboniferous | 286 360 | ||
| Devonian | 360 408 | ||
| Silurian | 408 438 | ||
| Ordovician | 438 505 | ||
| Cambrian | 505 545 | ||
| Precambrian | Proterozoic | 545 2500 | |
| Archaean | 2500 3500 | ||
| Hadean | 3500 4600 | ||
| [*]Derived from eighteenth and nineteenth century geological timescale that separated crustal rocks into a four-fold division of Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary, based largely on relative degree of lithification and deformation. |
