10 interesting facts about the geological time scale

GEOLOGICAL TIME

By Milena Villegas
  • Period: 541 BCE to 485 BCE

    Cambrian Period

  • Period: 541 BCE to 250 BCE

    PALEOZOIC ERA

    The Paleozoic Era on the geological timescale is also known as the Primary Era or simply as the Paleozoic. It is the first era of the Phanerozoic Eon, followed by the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. It is also known as the “Age of Invertebrates”.
  • Period: 485 BCE to 444 BCE

    Ordovician Period

  • The first vascular plants appeared.
    470 BCE

    The first vascular plants appeared.

    The first vascular plants appeared, such as the giant ferns that formed forests and originated coal deposits. At the end of the Paleozoic, most of the animal and plant species disappeared.
  • Period: 444 BCE to 419 BCE

    Silurian Period

  • Period: 419 BCE to 359 BCE

    Devonian Period

  • Period: 359 BCE to 299 BCE

    Carboniferous

  • Period: 299 BCE to 252 BCE

    Permian

  • Appearance of the Dinosaurs.
    260 BCE

    Appearance of the Dinosaurs.

    In the Mesozoic, dinosaurs and other reptiles appeared, which were the dominant ones of the Age.
  • Period: 252 BCE to 66 BCE

    MESEZOIC ERA

    The Mesozoic Era (also called the Mesozoic, or formerly the Secondary Era), is one of the three Eras that make up the Phanerozoic eon of the geological time scale, together with the Paleozoic (earlier) and Cenozoic (later) Era. Its duration was more or less than 186 million years.
  • Period: 252 BCE to 201 BCE

    Triassic Period

  • Period: 201 BCE to 145 BCE

    Jurassic Period

  • Angiosperm plants appeared.
    150 BCE

    Angiosperm plants appeared.

    Angiosperms are the most evolved spermatophytes. They have adapted to all environments and climates on Earth, making them the most abundant and diverse group of plants.
  • Period: 145 BCE to 66 BCE

    Cretaceous Period

  • The extinction of the dinosaurs
    66 BCE

    The extinction of the dinosaurs

    Towards the end of the Mesozoic, the mass extinction of the Tertiary Cretaceous occurred. This was the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. Many of the surviving animals and plants multiplied after the Cenozoic. Some of the causes of extinction events include one or more asteroid impacts, extensive volcanism, and climate change.
  • Period: 66 BCE to 3 BCE

    Tertiary Period

  • Period: 66 BCE to 50

    CENOZOIC ERA

    What is known as the Cenozoic Era or also Cenozoic (and formerly as Tertiary Era) is the last division of the geological time scale, within what makes up the Phanerozoic Eon (started 541 million years ago and culminates in our present days ), along with the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras.
  • The continents finally approached their current position.
    35 BCE

    The continents finally approached their current position.

    The continents that had been fragmented from Pangea continued their separation to their current position.
    The fact that the continents are united or not has had a series of environmental consequences for the history of the Earth, in such a way that it has influenced: the sea level
    the weather
    the distribution of living things
  • Appearance of hominids and the human species.
    5 BCE

    Appearance of hominids and the human species.

    Apes are multiplying, especially abundant in Africa. The first hominids appear.
  • Period: 3 BCE to 50

    Quaternary Period