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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For broader coverage of this topic, see History of Earth.

Geologic time shown in a diagram called

a geological clock, showing the relative lengths of the eons of Earth's history and noting
major events
The geological history of Earth follows the major geological events in Earth's past
based on the geologic time scale, a system of chronological measurement based on the
study of the planet's rock layers (stratigraphy). Earth formed approximately 4.54 billion
years ago through accretion from the solar nebula, a disk-shaped mass of dust and gas
remaining from the formation of the Sun, which also formed the rest of the Solar
System.

Initially, Earth was molten due to extreme volcanism and frequent collisions with other
bodies. Eventually, the outer layer of the planet cooled to form a solid crust when water
began accumulating in the atmosphere. The Moon formed soon afterwards, possibly as
a result of the impact of a protoplanet with Earth. Outgassing and volcanic activity
produced the primordial atmosphere. Condensing water vapor, augmented by ice
delivered from asteroids, produced the oceans. However, in 2020, researchers reported
that sufficient water to fill the oceans may have always been on Earth since the
beginning of the planet's formation.[1][2][3]

As the surface continually reshaped itself over hundreds of millions of years, continents
formed and broke apart. They migrated across the surface, occasionally combining to
form a supercontinent. Roughly 750 million years ago, the earliest-known
supercontinent Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to
form Pannotia, 600 to 540 million years ago, then finally Pangaea, which broke
apart 200 million years ago.

The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 million years ago, then intensified at the
end of the Pliocene. The polar regions have since undergone repeated cycles of
glaciation and thawing, repeating every 40,000–100,000 years. The Last Glacial
Period of the current ice age ended about 10,000 years ago.

Duration: 41 seconds.0:41Plate tectonics from the Neoproterozoic to present[4][5]

Convergent boundary
Divergent boundary
Transform boundary
Arrows point to the upthrown side
Continental crust (older crust)
Continental crust (younger crust)
Oceanic crust
Precambrian
Main article: Precambrian
The Precambrian includes approximately 90% of geologic time. It extends from 4.6
billion years ago to the beginning of the Cambrian Period (about 539 million years ago).
It includes the first three of the four eons of Earth's prehistory (the Hadean, Archean,
and Proterozoic) and precedes the Phanerozoic eon.[6]

Major volcanic events altering Earth's environment and causing extinctions may have
occurred 10 times in the past 3 billion years.[7]
Hadean Eon
Main article: Hadean

Artist's conception of a protoplanetary disc

During Hadean time (4.6–4 Ga), the Solar System was forming, probably within a large
cloud of gas and dust around the Sun, called an accretion disc from which Earth
formed 4,500 million years ago.[8] The Hadean Eon is not formally recognized, but it
essentially marks the era before we have adequate record of significant solid rocks. The
oldest dated zircons date from about 4,400 million years ago.[9][10][11]

Artist's impression of a Hadean landscape and the

Moon looming large in the sky, both bodies still under extreme volcanism.
Earth was initially molten due to extreme volcanism and frequent collisions with other
bodies. Eventually, the outer layer of the planet cooled to form a solid crust when water
began accumulating in the atmosphere. The Moon formed soon afterwards, possibly as
a result of the impact of a large planetoid with Earth.[12][13] More recent potassium isotopic
studies suggest that the Moon was formed by a smaller, high-energy, high-angular-
momentum giant impact cleaving off a significant portion of Earth.[14] Some of this
object's mass merged with Earth, significantly altering its internal composition, and a
portion was ejected into space. Some of the material survived to form the orbiting Moon.
Outgassing and volcanic activity produced the primordial atmosphere.
Condensing water vapor, augmented by ice delivered from comets, produced the
oceans.[15] However, in 2020, researchers reported that sufficient water to fill the
oceans may have always been on Earth since the beginning of the planet's formation.[1][2]
[3]

During the Hadean the Late Heavy Bombardment occurred

(approximately 4,100 to 3,800 million years ago) during which a large number of impact
craters are believed to have formed on the Moon, and by inference on
Earth, Mercury, Venus, and Mars as well. However, some scientists argue against this
hypothetical Late Heavy Bombardment, pointing out that the conclusion has been drawn
from data which are not fully representative (only a few crater hotspots on the Moon
have been analyzed).[16][17]

Archean Eon
Main article: Archean

Artist's impression of Earth during its

second eon, the Archean. The eon started with the Late Heavy Bombardment around
4.031 billion years ago. As depicted, Earth's planetary crust had largely cooled, leaving
a water-rich barren surface marked by volcanoes and continents, eventually
developing round microbialites. The Moon orbited Earth much closer, appearing much
larger, producing more frequent and wider eclipses as well as tidal effects.[18]
Earth of the early Archean (4,031 to 2,500 million years ago) may have had a different
tectonic style. It is widely believed that the early Earth was dominated by vertical
tectonic processes, such as stagnant lid,[19][20] heat-pipe,[21] or sagduction,[22][23][24] which
eventually transitioned to plate tectonics during the planet's mid-stage evolution.
However, an alternative view proposes that Earth never experienced a vertical tectonic
phase and that plate tectonics have been active throughout its entire history.[25][26]
[27]
During this time, Earth's crust cooled enough that rocks and continental plates began
to form. Some scientists think because Earth was hotter in the past,[28][29] plate tectonic
activity was more vigorous than it is today, resulting in a much greater rate of recycling
of crustal material. This may have prevented cratonization and continent formation until
the mantle cooled and convection slowed down. Others argue that the subcontinental
lithospheric mantle is too buoyant to subduct and that the lack of Archean rocks is a
function of erosion and subsequent tectonic events. Some geologists view the sudden
increase in aluminum content in zircons as an indicator of the beginning of plate
tectonics.[30]

Unlike Proterozoic rocks, Archean rocks are distinguished by the presence of heavily
metamorphosed deep-water sediments, such as graywackes, mudstones, volcanic
sediments and banded iron formations. Greenstone belts are typical Archean
formations, consisting of alternating high- and low-grade metamorphic rocks. The high-
grade rocks were derived from volcanic island arcs, while the low-grade metamorphic
rocks represent deep-sea sediments eroded from the neighboring island rocks and
deposited in a forearc basin. In short, greenstone belts represent sutured
protocontinents.[31]
The Earth's magnetic field was established 3.5 billion years ago. The solar wind flux
was about 100 times the value of the modern Sun, so the presence of the magnetic field
helped prevent the planet's atmosphere from being stripped away, which is what
probably happened to the atmosphere of Mars. However, the field strength was lower
than at present and the magnetosphere was about half the modern radius.[32]

Proterozoic Eon
Main article: Proterozoic
The geologic record of the Proterozoic (2,500 to 538.8 million years ago[33]) is more
complete than that for the preceding Archean. In contrast to the deep-water deposits of
the Archean, the Proterozoic features many strata that were laid down in extensive
shallow epicontinental seas; furthermore, many of these rocks are
less metamorphosed than Archean-age ones, and plenty are unaltered.[34] Study of
these rocks shows that the eon featured massive, rapid continental accretion (unique to
the Proterozoic), supercontinent cycles, and wholly modern orogenic activity.
[35]
Roughly 750 million years ago,[36] the earliest-known supercontinent Rodinia, began to
break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia, 600–540 Ma.[10][37]

The first-known glaciations occurred during the Proterozoic, one that began shortly after
the beginning of the eon, while there were at least four during the Neoproterozoic,
climaxing with the Snowball Earth of the Varangian glaciation.[38]

Artist's rendition of a fully-frozen Snowball Earth with

no remaining liquid surface water.
Phanerozoic
Main article: Phanerozoic
The Phanerozoic Eon is the current eon in the geologic timescale. It covers roughly
539 million years. During this period continents drifted apart, but eventually collected
into a single landmass known as Pangea, before splitting again into the current
continental landmasses.[citation needed]

The Phanerozoic is divided into three eras – the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic and
the Cenozoic.

Most of the evolution of multicellular life occurred during this time period.

Paleozoic Era
Main article: Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era spanned roughly 539 to 251 million years ago,[39] and is subdivided
into six geologic periods: from oldest to youngest, they are
the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian.
Geologically, the Paleozoic starts shortly after the breakup of a supercontinent
called Pannotia and at the end of a global ice age. Throughout the early Paleozoic,
Earth's landmass was broken up into a substantial number of relatively small continents.
Toward the end of the era, the continents gathered together into a supercontinent
called Pangaea, which included most of Earth's land area.

Cambrian Period
Main article: Cambrian
The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 538.8 ±
0.2 million years ago.[40] Cambrian continents are thought to have resulted from the
breakup of a Neoproterozoic supercontinent called Pannotia. The waters of the
Cambrian period appear to have been widespread and shallow. Continental drift rates
may have been anomalously high. Laurentia, Baltica and Siberia remained independent
continents following the break-up of the supercontinent of Pannotia. Gondwana started
to drift toward the South Pole. Panthalassa covered most of the southern hemisphere,
and minor oceans included the Proto-Tethys Ocean, Iapetus Ocean and Khanty Ocean.

Ordovician period
Main article: Ordovician
The Ordovician period started at a major extinction event called the Cambrian–
Ordovician extinction event some time about 485.4 ± 1.9 million years ago.[10] During
the Ordovician the southern continents were collected into a single continent called
Gondwana. Gondwana started the period in the equatorial latitudes and, as the period
progressed, drifted toward the South Pole. Early in the Ordovician the continents
Laurentia, Siberia and Baltica were still independent continents (since the break-up of
the supercontinent Pannotia earlier), but Baltica began to move toward Laurentia later in
the period, causing the Iapetus Ocean to shrink between them. Also, Avalonia broke
free from Gondwana and began to head north toward Laurentia. The Rheic Ocean was
formed as a result of this. By the end of the period, Gondwana had neared or
approached the pole and was largely glaciated.[citation needed]

The Ordovician came to a close in a series of extinction events that, taken together,
comprise the second-largest of the five major extinction events in Earth's history in
terms of percentage of genera that became extinct. The only larger one was the
Permian-Triassic extinction event. The extinctions occurred
approximately 447 to 444 million years ago [10] and mark the boundary between the
Ordovician and the following Silurian Period.

The most-commonly accepted theory is that these events were triggered by the onset of
an ice age, in the Hirnantian faunal stage that ended the long,
stable greenhouse conditions typical of the Ordovician. The ice age was probably not as
long-lasting as once thought; study of oxygen isotopes in fossil brachiopods shows that
it was probably no longer than 0.5 to 1.5 million years.[41] The event was preceded by a
fall in atmospheric carbon dioxide (from 7000ppm to 4400ppm) which selectively
affected the shallow seas where most organisms lived. As the southern
supercontinent Gondwana drifted over the South Pole, ice caps formed on it. Evidence
of these ice caps has been detected in Upper Ordovician rock strata of North Africa and
then-adjacent northeastern South America, which were south-polar locations at the
time.[citation needed]

Silurian Period
Main article: Silurian
The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that started about 443.8 ± 1.5
million years ago.[10] During the Silurian, Gondwana continued a slow southward drift to
high southern latitudes, but there is evidence that the Silurian ice caps were less
extensive than those of the late Ordovician glaciation. The melting of ice caps and
glaciers contributed to a rise in sea levels, recognizable from the fact that Silurian
sediments overlie eroded Ordovician sediments, forming an unconformity.
Other cratons and continent fragments drifted together near the equator, starting the
formation of a second supercontinent known as Euramerica. The vast ocean of
Panthalassa covered most of the northern hemisphere. Other minor oceans include
Proto-Tethys, Paleo-Tethys, Rheic Ocean, a seaway of Iapetus Ocean (now in between
Avalonia and Laurentia), and newly formed Ural Ocean.

Devonian Period
Main article: Devonian
The Devonian spanned roughly from 419 to 359 million years ago.[10] The period was a
time of great tectonic activity, as Laurasia and Gondwana drew closer together. The
continent Euramerica (or Laurussia) was created in the early Devonian by the collision
of Laurentia and Baltica, which rotated into the natural dry zone along the Tropic of
Capricorn. In these near-deserts, the Old Red Sandstone sedimentary beds formed,
made red by the oxidized iron (hematite) characteristic of drought conditions. Near the
equator Pangaea began to consolidate from the plates containing North America and
Europe, further raising the northern Appalachian Mountains and forming the Caledonian
Mountains in Great Britain and Scandinavia. The southern continents remained tied
together in the supercontinent of Gondwana. The remainder of modern Eurasia lay in
the Northern Hemisphere. Sea levels were high worldwide, and much of the land lay
submerged under shallow seas. The deep, enormous Panthalassa (the "universal
ocean") covered the rest of the planet. Other minor oceans were Paleo-Tethys, Proto-
Tethys, Rheic Ocean and Ural Ocean (which was closed during the collision with
Siberia and Baltica).

Carboniferous Period
Main article: Carboniferous
The Carboniferous extends from about 358.9 ± 0.4 to about 298.9 ± 0.15 million years
ago.[10]
A global drop in sea level at the end of the Devonian reversed early in
the Carboniferous; this created the widespread epicontinental seas and carbonate
deposition of the Mississippian. There was also a drop in south polar temperatures;
southern Gondwana was glaciated throughout the period, though it is uncertain if the ice
sheets were a holdover from the Devonian or not. These conditions apparently had little
effect in the deep tropics, where lush coal swamps flourished within 30 degrees of the
northernmost glaciers. A mid-Carboniferous drop in sea-level precipitated a major
marine extinction, one that hit crinoids and ammonites especially hard. This sea-level
drop and the associated unconformity in North America separate the Mississippian
period from the Pennsylvanian period.[42]

The Carboniferous was a time of active mountain building, as the supercontinent

Pangea came together. The southern continents remained tied together in the
supercontinent Gondwana, which collided with North America-Europe (Laurussia) along
the present line of eastern North America. This continental collision resulted in
the Hercynian orogeny in Europe, and the Alleghenian orogeny in North America; it also
extended the newly uplifted Appalachians southwestward as the Ouachita Mountains.
[43]
In the same time frame, much of present eastern Eurasian Plate welded itself to
Europe along the line of the Ural Mountains. There were two major oceans in the
Carboniferous: the Panthalassa and Paleo-Tethys. Other minor oceans were shrinking
and eventually closed the Rheic Ocean (closed by the assembly of South and North
America), the small, shallow Ural Ocean (which was closed by the collision of Baltica,
and Siberia continents, creating the Ural Mountains) and Proto-Tethys Ocean.

Pangaea separation animation

Permian Period
Main article: Permian
The Permian extends from about 298.9 ± 0.15 to 252.17 ± 0.06 million years ago.[10]

During the Permian all Earth's major landmasses, except portions of East Asia, were
collected into a single supercontinent known as Pangaea. Pangaea straddled the
equator and extended toward the poles, with a corresponding effect on ocean currents
in the single great ocean (Panthalassa, the universal sea), and the Paleo-Tethys
Ocean, a large ocean that was between Asia and Gondwana. The Cimmeria continent
rifted away from Gondwana and drifted north to Laurasia, causing the Paleo-Tethys to
shrink. A new ocean was growing on its southern end, the Tethys Ocean, an ocean that
would dominate much of the Mesozoic Era. Large continental landmasses create
climates with extreme variations of heat and cold ("continental climate") and monsoon
conditions with highly seasonal rainfall patterns. Deserts seem to have been
widespread on Pangaea.

Mesozoic Era
Main article: Mesozoic

Plate tectonics - 249 million years ago

Plate tectonics - 290 million years ago

The Mesozoic extended roughly from 252 to 66 million years ago.[10]

After the vigorous convergent plate mountain-building of the

late Paleozoic, Mesozoic tectonic deformation was comparatively mild. Nevertheless,
the era featured the dramatic rifting of the supercontinent Pangaea. Pangaea gradually
split into a northern continent, Laurasia, and a southern continent, Gondwana. This
created the passive continental margin that characterizes most of the Atlantic coastline
(such as along the U.S. East Coast) today.

Triassic Period
Main article: Triassic
The Triassic Period extends from about 252.17 ± 0.06 to 201.3 ± 0.2 million years ago.
[10]
During the Triassic, almost all Earth's landmass was concentrated into a
single supercontinent centered more or less on the equator, called Pangaea ("all the
land"). This took the form of a giant "Pac-Man" with an east-facing "mouth" constituting
the Tethys sea, a vast gulf that opened farther westward in the mid-Triassic, at the
expense of the shrinking Paleo-Tethys Ocean, an ocean that existed during
the Paleozoic.

The remainder was the world-ocean known as Panthalassa ("all the sea"). All the deep-
ocean sediments laid down during the Triassic have disappeared through subduction of
oceanic plates; thus, very little is known of the Triassic open ocean. The supercontinent
Pangaea was rifting during the Triassic—especially late in the period—but had not yet
separated. The first nonmarine sediments in the rift that marks the initial break-up of
Pangea—which separated New Jersey from Morocco—are of Late Triassic age; in the
U.S., these thick sediments comprise the Newark Supergroup.[44] Because of the limited
shoreline of one super-continental mass, Triassic marine deposits are globally relatively
rare; despite their prominence in Western Europe, where the Triassic was first studied.
In North America, for example, marine deposits are limited to a few exposures in the
west. Thus Triassic stratigraphy is mostly based on organisms living in lagoons and
hypersaline environments, such as Estheria crustaceans and terrestrial vertebrates.[45]

Jurassic Period
Main article: Jurassic
The Jurassic Period extends from about 201.3 ± 0.2 to 145.0 million years ago.
[10]
During the early Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea broke up into the northern
supercontinent Laurasia and the southern supercontinent Gondwana; the Gulf of
Mexico opened in the new rift between North America and what is
now Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The Jurassic North Atlantic Ocean was relatively
narrow, while the South Atlantic did not open until the following Cretaceous Period,
when Gondwana itself rifted apart.[46] The Tethys Sea closed, and the Neotethys basin
appeared. Climates were warm, with no evidence of glaciation. As in the Triassic, there
was apparently no land near either pole, and no extensive ice caps existed. The
Jurassic geological record is good in western Europe, where extensive marine
sequences indicate a time when much of the continent was submerged under shallow
tropical seas; famous locales include the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the
renowned late Jurassic lagerstätten of Holzmaden and Solnhofen.[47] In contrast, the
North American Jurassic record is the poorest of the Mesozoic, with few outcrops at the
surface.[48] Though the epicontinental Sundance Sea left marine deposits in parts of the
northern plains of the United States and Canada during the late Jurassic, most exposed
sediments from this period are continental, such as the alluvial deposits of the Morrison
Formation. The first of several massive batholiths were emplaced in the
northern Cordillera beginning in the mid-Jurassic, marking the Nevadan orogeny.
[49]
Important Jurassic exposures are also found in Russia, India, South America,
Japan, Australasia and the United Kingdom.

Cretaceous Period
Main article: Cretaceous

Plate tectonics - 100 Ma,[10] Cretaceous period

The Cretaceous Period extends from circa 145 million years ago to 66 million years
ago.[10]

During the Cretaceous, the late Paleozoic-early

Mesozoic supercontinent of Pangaea completed its breakup into present
day continents, although their positions were substantially different at the time. As
the Atlantic Ocean widened, the convergent-margin orogenies that had begun during
the Jurassic continued in the North American Cordillera, as the Nevadan orogeny was
followed by the Sevier and Laramide orogenies. Though Gondwana was still intact in
the beginning of the Cretaceous, Gondwana itself broke up as South
America, Antarctica and Australia rifted away
from Africa (though India and Madagascar remained attached to each other); thus, the
South Atlantic and Indian Oceans were newly formed. Such active rifting lifted great
undersea mountain chains along the welts, raising eustatic sea levels worldwide.

To the north of Africa the Tethys Sea continued to narrow. Broad shallow seas
advanced across central North America (the Western Interior Seaway) and Europe,
then receded late in the period, leaving thick marine deposits sandwiched
between coal beds. At the peak of the Cretaceous transgression, one-third of Earth's
present land area was submerged.[50] The Cretaceous is justly famous for its chalk;
indeed, more chalk formed in the Cretaceous than in any other period in
the Phanerozoic.[51] Mid-ocean ridge activity—or rather, the circulation of seawater
through the enlarged ridges—enriched the oceans in calcium; this made the oceans
more saturated, as well as increased the bioavailability of the element for calcareous
nanoplankton.[52] These widespread carbonates and other sedimentary deposits make
the Cretaceous rock record especially fine. Famous formations from North America
include the rich marine fossils of Kansas's Smoky Hill Chalk Member and the terrestrial
fauna of the late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation. Other important Cretaceous
exposures occur in Europe and China. In the area that is now India, massive lava beds
called the Deccan Traps were laid down in the very late Cretaceous and early
Paleocene.
Cenozoic Era
Main article: Cenozoic
The Cenozoic Era covers the 66 million years since the Cretaceous–Paleogene
extinction event up to and including the present day. By the end of the Mesozoic era,
the continents had rifted into nearly their present form. Laurasia became North
America and Eurasia, while Gondwana split into South
America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica and the Indian subcontinent, which collided with
the Asian plate. This impact gave rise to the Himalayas. The Tethys Sea, which had
separated the northern continents from Africa and India, began to close up, forming
the Mediterranean Sea.

Paleogene Period
Main article: Paleogene
The Paleogene (alternatively Palaeogene) Period is a unit of geologic time that began
66 and ended 23.03 Ma[10] and comprises the first part of the Cenozoic Era. This period
consists of the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene Epochs.
Paleocene Epoch
Main article: Paleocene
The Paleocene, lasted from 66 million years ago to 56 million years ago.[10]

In many ways, the Paleocene continued processes that had begun during the late
Cretaceous Period. During the Paleocene, the continents continued to drift toward their
present positions. Supercontinent Laurasia had not yet separated into three
continents. Europe and Greenland were still connected. North America and Asia were
still intermittently joined by a land bridge, while Greenland and North America were
beginning to separate.[53] The Laramide orogeny of the late Cretaceous continued to
uplift the Rocky Mountains in the American west, which ended in the succeeding epoch.
South and North America remained separated by equatorial seas (they joined during
the Neogene); the components of the former southern
supercontinent Gondwana continued to split apart, with Africa, South
America, Antarctica and Australia pulling away from each other. Africa was heading
north toward Europe, slowly closing the Tethys Ocean, and India began its migration to
Asia that would lead to a tectonic collision and the formation of the Himalayas.
Eocene Epoch
Main article: Eocene
During the Eocene (56 million years ago - 33.9 million years ago),[10] the continents
continued to drift toward their present positions. At the beginning of the period, Australia
and Antarctica remained connected, and warm equatorial currents mixed with colder
Antarctic waters, distributing the heat around the world and keeping global temperatures
high. But when Australia split from the southern continent around 45 Ma, the warm
equatorial currents were deflected away from Antarctica, and an isolated cold water
channel developed between the two continents. The Antarctic region cooled down, and
the ocean surrounding Antarctica began to freeze, sending cold water and ice floes
north, reinforcing the cooling. The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 million
years ago.[54]

The northern supercontinent of Laurasia began to break up,

as Europe, Greenland and North America drifted apart. In western North
America, mountain building started in the Eocene, and huge lakes formed in the high
flat basins among uplifts. In Europe, the Tethys Sea finally vanished, while the uplift of
the Alps isolated its final remnant, the Mediterranean, and created another shallow sea
with island archipelagos to the north. Though the North Atlantic was opening, a land
connection appears to have remained between North America and Europe since the
faunas of the two regions are very similar. India continued its journey away
from Africa and began its collision with Asia, creating the Himalayan orogeny.
Oligocene Epoch
Main article: Oligocene
The Oligocene Epoch extends from about 34 million years ago to 23 million years ago.
[10]
During the Oligocene the continents continued to drift toward their present positions.

Antarctica continued to become more isolated and finally developed a permanent ice
cap. Mountain building in western North America continued, and the Alps started to rise
in Europe as the African Plate continued to push north into the Eurasian Plate, isolating
the remnants of Tethys Sea. A brief marine incursion marks the early Oligocene in
Europe. There appears to have been a land bridge in the early Oligocene
between North America and Europe since the faunas of the two regions are very similar.
During the Oligocene, South America was finally detached from Antarctica and drifted
north toward North America. It also allowed the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to flow,
rapidly cooling the continent.

Neogene Period
Main article: Neogene
The Neogene Period is a unit of geologic time starting 23.03 Ma.[10] and ends at 2.588
Ma. The Neogene Period follows the Paleogene Period. The Neogene consists of
the Miocene and Pliocene and is followed by the Quaternary Period.
Miocene Epoch
Main article: Miocene
The Miocene extends from about 23.03 to 5.333 million years ago.[10]

During the Miocene continents continued to drift toward their present positions. Of the
modern geologic features, only the land bridge between South America and North
America was absent, the subduction zone along the Pacific Ocean margin of South
America caused the rise of the Andes and the southward extension of the Meso-
American peninsula. India continued to collide with Asia. The Tethys Seaway continued
to shrink and then disappeared as Africa collided with Eurasia in the Turkish-
Arabian region between 19 and 12 Ma (ICS 2004). Subsequent uplift of mountains in
the western Mediterranean region and a global fall in sea levels combined to cause a
temporary drying up of the Mediterranean Sea resulting in the Messinian salinity
crisis near the end of the Miocene.
Pliocene Epoch
Main article: Pliocene
The Pliocene extends from 5.333 million years ago to 2.588 million years ago.[10] During
the Pliocene continents continued to drift toward their present positions, moving from
positions possibly as far as 250 kilometres (155 mi) from their present locations to
positions only 70 km from their current locations.

South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama during
the Pliocene, bringing a nearly complete end to South America's
distinctive marsupial faunas. The formation of the Isthmus had major consequences on
global temperatures, since warm equatorial ocean currents were cut off and an Atlantic
cooling cycle began, with cold Arctic and Antarctic waters dropping temperatures in the
now-isolated Atlantic Ocean. Africa's collision with Europe formed the Mediterranean
Sea, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean. Sea level changes exposed the
land-bridge between Alaska and Asia. Near the end of the Pliocene, about 2.58 million
years ago (the start of the Quaternary Period), the current ice age began. The polar
regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating every
40,000–100,000 years.

Quaternary Period
Main article: Quaternary
Pleistocene Epoch
Main article: Pleistocene
The Pleistocene extends from 2.588 million years ago to 11,700 years before present.
[10]
The modern continents were essentially at their present positions during
the Pleistocene, the plates upon which they sit probably having moved no more than
100 kilometres (62 mi) relative to each other since the beginning of the period.
Holocene Epoch
Main article: Holocene

Current Earth - without water, elevation greatly

exaggerated (click/enlarge to "spin" 3D-globe).
 The Holocene Epoch began approximately 11,700 calendar years before present[10] and
continues to the present. During the Holocene, continental motions have been less than
a kilometer.

The last glacial period of the current ice age ended about 10,000 years ago.[55] Ice melt
caused world sea levels to rise about 35 metres (115 ft) in the early part of the
Holocene. In addition, many areas above about 40 degrees north latitude had been
depressed by the weight of the Pleistocene glaciers and rose as much as 180 metres
(591 ft) over the late Pleistocene and Holocene, and are still rising today. The sea level
rise and temporary land depression allowed temporary marine incursions into areas that
are now far from the sea. Holocene marine fossils are known
from Vermont, Quebec, Ontario and Michigan. Other than higher latitude temporary
marine incursions associated with glacial depression, Holocene fossils are found
primarily in lakebed, floodplain and cave deposits. Holocene marine deposits along low-
latitude coastlines are rare because the rise in sea levels during the period exceeds any
likely upthrusting of non-glacial origin. Post-glacial rebound in Scandinavia resulted in
the emergence of coastal areas around the Baltic Sea, including much of Finland. The
region continues to rise, still causing weak earthquakes across Northern Europe. The
equivalent event in North America was the rebound of Hudson Bay, as it shrank from its
larger, immediate post-glacial Tyrrell Sea phase, to near its present boundaries.

See also
 Geology portal

 Earth sciences portal

 World portal

 Astronomical chronology
 Age of Earth
 Age of the universe
 Chronological dating, archaeological chronology
 Absolute dating
 Relative dating
 Phase (archaeology)
 Archaeological association
 Geochronology
 Future of Earth
 Geologic time scale
 Plate reconstruction
 Plate tectonics
 Thermochronology
 Timeline of natural history
 List of geochronologic names
 General
 Consilience, evidence from independent, unrelated sources can "converge" on
strong conclusions
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Further reading
 Stanley, Steven M. (1999). Earth system history (New ed.). New York: W. H.
Freeman. ISBN 978-0-7167-3377-5.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Geological history of Earth.

 Cosmic Evolution — a detailed look at events from the origin of the universe to the
present
 Valley, John W. "A Cool Early Earth?" Scientific American. 2005 Oct:58–65. –
discusses the timing of the formation of the oceans and other major events in
Earth's early history.
 Davies, Paul. "Quantum leap of life". The Guardian. 2005 Dec 20. – discusses
speculation into the role of quantum systems in the origin of life
 Evolution timeline Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine (requires Flash
Player). Animated story of life since about 13,700,000,000 shows everything from
the Big Bang to the formation of Earth and the development of bacteria and other
organisms to the ascent of man.
 Theory of the Earth and Abstract of the Theory of the Earth
 Paleomaps Since 600 Ma (Mollweide Projection, Longitude 0) Archived 2012-10-20
at the Wayback Machine
 Paleomaps Since 600 Ma (Mollweide Projection, Longitude 180) Archived 2012-10-
20 at the Wayback Machine
 Ageing the Earth on In Our Time at the BBC

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