Different Epochs

These Epochs are the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene. In the image at right are
the Epochs of the Quaternary Period. Currently, the Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs are the only two
Epochs identified in the Quaternary Period. How many epochs have there been? Earth's geologic epochs
—time periods defined by evidence in rock layers—typically last more than three million years. We're
barely 11,500 years into the current epoch, the Holocene. But a new paper argues that we've already
entered a new one—the Anthropocene, or "new man," epoch. How are epochs divided? The
Phanerozoic Eon is divided into three such time frames: the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic
represent the major stages in the macroscopic fossil record. A geologic era is a subdivision of geologic
time that divides an eon into smaller units of time.

I also include the Geologic Time Chart History so that we can know the whole history. In the late 1790's,
an English canal builder, William Smith (1769 - 1839), discovered the most important tool for relative
age dating. Smith noted that fossils did not occur in a haphazard pattern in the rocks, but rather in a
definite and determinable, systematic sequence. Hence the age of a layer of rock could be determined
by its characteristic faunal content. The Geologic Time Chart was not developed in the sequential order
as it is known today with the oldest interval units of time appearing at the bottom and the most recent
interval units appearing at the top of the chart. Actually, each unit of the Time chart was developed only
as early geologists identified the layers of rock and the fossils captured within them. As shown in the
image above of the Grand Canyon, each layer of rock needed to be studied, researched, identified, and
named in order for geologists to devise the Geologic Time Chart. Each rock layer that corresponded to a
unit of the Geologic Time Chart was identified in a somewhat haphazard manner. The Paleozoic Era was
not identified and included in the developing time chart until 1838, however the Devonian Period of the
Paleozoic Era was identified a year earlier in 1837. Other Eras and Periods of the Geologic Time Chart
were identified in the following order:

Paleozoic Era 1838

Ordovician Period 1879

Silurian Period 1835

Devonian Period 1837

Mississippian Period 1870

Pennsylvanian Period 1891

Permian Period 1841

Mesozoic Era 1834

Triassic Period 1834

Jurassic Period 1790

Cretaceous Period 1822

Cenozoic Era 1841

Tertiary Period 1760

Quaternary Period 1829

Throughout the 1800's geologists continued to add to their knowledge about the rock layers and the
fossil remains found within them. Slowly, the Geologic Time Chart took shape, however, in the course of
devising the chart geologists also found that the rock layers offered some challenges and mysteries. For
example, older rocks would sometimes be captured in younger rocks, causing confusion about the
relative date of the rock layer. Consequently, Geologic Principles were developed to explain those
curious event