Segments of rock (strata) in chronostratigraphy | Time spans in geochronology | Notes to geochronological units |
---|---|---|
Eonothem | Eon | 4 total, half a billion years or more |
Erathem | Era | 10 defined, several hundred million years |
System | Period | 22 defined, tens to ~one hundred million years |
Series | Epoch | 34 defined, tens of millions of years |
Stage | Age | 99 defined, millions of years |
Chronozone | Chron | subdivision of an age, not used by the ICS timescale |
A geologic age is a subdivision of geologic time that divides an epoch into smaller parts. A succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale is a stage.