Quaternary

Also known as Anthropogene, Quaternary Period, Quaternary System, Pleistogene

The Quaternary ( , ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the Phanerozoic eon. It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.6 million years ago to the present. The Quaternary Period is divided into two epochs: the Pleistocene (2.6 million years ago to 12 thousand years ago) and the Holocene (12 thousand years ago to today); a proposed third epoch, the Anthropocene, was rejected in 2024 by International Union of Ge

AI overview

The Quaternary is the current geological period that began 2.6 million years ago and continues today, making it the most recent of the major divisions of Earth's history. It is important because it encompasses the Pleistocene epoch (which saw the rise of humans and ice ages) and the Holocene epoch (our current warm period), providing the geological context for understanding human evolution and modern climate.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Geologic timespan.name: Quaternary
Geologic timespan.color: Quaternary
Geologic timespan.time_start: 2.58
Geologic timespan.time_end: 0
Geologic timespan.image_map: Mollweide.jpg
Geologic timespan.caption_map: A map of Earth as it appears during the current Quaternary period, Holocene epoch
Geologic timespan.timeline: Quaternary
Geologic timespan.name_formality: Formal
Geologic timespan.celestial_body: Earth
Geologic timespan.usage: Global (ICS)
Geologic timespan.timescales_used: ICS Time Scale
Geologic timespan.chrono_unit: Period
Geologic timespan.strat_unit: System
Geologic timespan.timespan_formality: Formal
Geologic timespan.lower_boundary_def: Base of magnetic polarity chronozone C2r (Matuyama) Extinction of the Haptophytes Discoaster pentaradiatus and Discoaster surculus
Geologic timespan.lower_gssp_location: Monte San Nicola Section, Gela, Sicily, Italy
Geologic timespan.lower_gssp_accept_date: 2009 (as base of Quaternary and Pleistocene)
Geologic timespan.upper_boundary_def: Present day

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image: Northern icesheet-fr.png

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Commons category: Quaternary
sRGB color hex triplet: F9F97F
start time: 2580000-00
time of discovery or invention: 1829-00-00

Sources (5)

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Article

7 sections

Contents

Research history
Geology
Climate
Flora and fauna
See also
References
External links

The Quaternary is typically defined by the Quaternary glaciation, the cyclic growth and decay of continental ice sheets related to the Milankovitch cycles and the associated climate and environmental changes that they caused.