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Era

Carboniferous

kar-buh-NIF-er-us
Also Known As Age of Amphibians
Phanerozoic

The Carboniferous is the fifth period of the Paleozoic Era, spanning about 358.86 to 298.9 million years ago. Vast swamp forests laid down the coal beds that give the period its name, amphibians diversified widely, and the supercontinent Pangaea assembled against a backdrop of Late Paleozoic Ice Age glaciation. In North America it is conventionally split into the earlier Mississippian and later Pennsylvanian. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Rank
Period 1
Start (Million Years Ago)
358.86 1
Standard boundary age from the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart; not independently re-dated by this atlas.
End (Million Years Ago)
298.9 1
Standard boundary age from the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart; not independently re-dated by this atlas.
Key Event
Vast swaths of forest and swamp covered the land and eventually became the coal beds characteristic of Carboniferous stratigraphy; the supercontinent Pangaea assembled during the period. 1
Connections

Anticipated By

Devonian, Eras

Associated With

Late Devonian Extinction, Phenomena
Source Late Devonian Extinction (Wikipedia)

Has Geologic Rank

Geologic Period, Concepts

Precursor To

Permian, Eras
Sources
1. Carboniferous (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction
    The Carboniferous is the period during which both terrestrial animal and land plant life was well established.
  • Introduction (coal swamps)
    Vast swaths of forests and swamps covered the land, which eventually became the coal beds characteristic of the Carboniferous stratigraphy evident today.
  • Introduction (Age of Amphibians)
    The period is sometimes called the Age of Amphibians because of the diversification of early amphibians.
  • Lead section
    The name Carboniferous means "coal-bearing", from the Latin carbō ("coal") and ferō ("bear, carry"), and refers to the many coal beds formed globally during that time.
  • Classification
  • Timespan (start)
  • Timespan (end)
View the Source
Late Devonian Extinction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Late Devonian ExtinctionView the Source
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