Geological Time

Chart of Geological Time:

Also see:
Tree of Life for Fossil Collectors
Geological Time with Paleobiology
Geologic Time Clock
Geologic Time Spiral

Link to expanded chart of Paleobiology over Geological Time:
"visit links within the table to drill down for more information"
Also see: The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) - Geological Timescale

A short visual tour of how life has changed over geologic time as evidenced by the fossil record:
Precambrian Fossils I Cambrian Fossils I Ordovician Fossils I Silurian Fossils I Devonian Fossils
Carboniferous Fossils I Permian Fossils I Triassic Fossils I Jurassic Fossils I Cretaceous Fossils I Tertiary Fossils

Geologic Time is divided and subdivided into various categories as presented here:
Eons are divided into Eras; Eras are divided Periods; Periods and subperiods are divided into Epochs
(Epochal subdivisions referred to as "ages" are not given in the chart)

Phanerozoic EON (544 mya to present) "The age of visible life"	ERAs	Periods		EPOCH
	Cenozoic Era (65 mya to today)	Quaternary (1.8 mya to today)		Holocene (11,000 years to today)
				Pleistocene (1.8 mya to 11,000 yrs)
		Tertiary (65 to 1.8 mya)		Pliocene (5 to 1.8 mya)
				Miocene (23 to 5 mya)
				Oligocene (38 to 23 mya)
				Eocene (54 to 37 mya)
				Paleocene (65 to 54 mya)
	Mesozoic Era (245 to 65 mya)	Cretaceous (146 to 65 mya)		Divided as: Upper; Middle; Lower
		Jurassic (208 to 146 mya)
		Triassic (245 to 208 mya)
	Paleozoic Era (544 to 245 mya)	Permian (286 to 245 mya)
		Carboniferous (360 to 286 mya)	Pennsylvanian (325 to 286 mya)
			Mississippian (360 to 325 mya)
		Devonian (410 to 360 mya)
		Silurian (440 to 410 mya)
		Ordovician (500 to 440 mya)
		Cambrian (544 to 500 mya)	Tommotian (530 to 527 mya)
Precambrian Time (4,500 to 544 mya) "deep time on earth"	Proterozoic Era (2500 to 544 mya)	Vendian (650 to 544 mya) or Ediacaran		No Epochs
		Neoproterozoic (900 to 544 mya) - Late
		Mesoproterozoic (1600 to 900 mya) - Middle
		Paleoproterozoic (2500 to 1600 mya) - Early
	Archaean (3800 to 2500 mya)
	Hadean (4500 to 3800 mya)
Dawn of Time (13,700 mya)	The Big Bang (13,700 mya)