V.    PERIODS, EPOCHS, AGES


                   

Within the eras, formal geology has named many periods, epochs and ages, but most are obscure for popular purposes. Well-known periods occur only in the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras of the current aeon, and are listed in the table of Eras above.

The Quaternary period, and its two recent epochs the Pleistocene and Holocene, are all often referenced in popular writing. Other epochs and ages are primarily of academic interest.