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Era

Cryogenian

Proterozoic

The second period of the Neoproterozoic era, spanning about 720 to 635 million years ago. It is defined by two severe global glaciations, the Sturtian and Marinoan, in which ice sheets may have reached or nearly reached the equator in a so called Snowball Earth or Slushball Earth state that severely disrupted the biosphere. 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)
720 1
End (Million Years Ago)
635 1
Key Event
Sturtian Glaciation, about 717 to 660 Ma, the first major ice age; Marinoan Glaciation, about 639 to 632.3 Ma, the second, ending near the Cryogenian-Ediacaran boundary. 1
Connections

Anticipated By

Tonian, Eras

Has Geologic Rank

Geologic Period, Concepts

In Discipline

Geochronology, Disciplines

Precursor To

Ediacaran, Eras
Sources
1. Cryogenian (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    The second of the three periods of the Neoproterozoic era, preceded by the Tonian and followed by the Ediacaran.
  • Article text
    After the long environmental stability/stagnation during the Boring Billion, the Sturtian glaciation began at the beginning of Cryogenian, freezing the entire planet in a state of severe icehouse climate known as a snowball Earth.
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