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Geological Time Scale
Edited from Shane Smith and Keith Brunstad, 2003
Eon
Era
Period
Epoch
Abs. Age
(Ma)
Age of
Events
Phanerozoic
Cenozoic
Quaternary
Holocene
0-2
Mammals
Humans
Pleistocene
Scabland Floods
Tertiary
Neogene
Pliocene
2-5
Miocene
5-24
Columbia Basalts
Paleogene
Oligocene
24-37
Eocene
37-58
Paleocene
58-66
Extinction of Dinosaurs
Mesozoic
Cretaceous
66-144
Reptiles
Flowering Plants
Jurassic
144-208
1
st
Birds/Mammals
Triassic
208-245
1
st
Dinosaurs
Paleozoic
Permian
245-286
Amphibians
Extinction of Trilobites
Carboniferous
Pennsylvanian
286-320
1
st
Reptiles
Mississippian
320-360
Large Primitive Trees
Devonian
360-408
Fishes
1
st
Amphibians
Silurian
408-438
1
st
Land Plants
Ordovician
438-505
Invertebrates
1
st
Fish
Cambrian
505-570
1
st
Shells, Trilobites
Proterozoic
Precambrian
570-2,500
1
st
Multicelled organisms
Archean
2,500-3,800
1
st
One-celled organisms
Hadean
3,800-4,600
Origin of the Earth