While also using the international
geologic time scale
The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochr ...
, many nations–especially those with isolated and therefore non-standard prehistories–use their own systems of dividing geologic time into epochs and
faunal stage
In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convent ...
s. In
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, these epochs and stages use local place names (mainly
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
in origin) back to the
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...
.
![GeologicTimeScale-WikiLeadImage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/GeologicTimeScale-WikiLeadImage.svg)
Prior to this time, names mostly align to those in the Australian geologic time scale, and are not divided into epochs.
In practice, these earlier terms are rarely used, as most New Zealand geology is of a more recent origin. In all cases, New Zealand uses the same periods as those used internationally; the renaming only applies to subdivisions of these periods. Very few epochs and stages cross international period boundaries, and the exceptions are almost all within the Cenozoic Era. New Zealand updates will always be behind any significant international updates in the
International Geological Time Scale.
Although the New Zealand geologic time scale has not been formally adopted, it has been widely used by
earth scientists,
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...
s and
palaeontologists in New Zealand since J. S. Crampton proposed it in 1995. The most recent calibrated update was in 2015.
A standard abbreviation is used for these epochs and stages. These are usually in the form Xx, where the first letter is the initial letter of the epoch and the second (lower-case) letter is the initial letter of the stage. These are noted beside the stage names in the list below.
Currently, from the New Zealand perspective we are in the Haweran stage of the Wanganui epoch which is within the internationally defined
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...
epoch of the
Quaternary period of the
Cenozoic era. The Haweran, which started some 340,000 years ago, is named after the
North Island town of
Hawera. The New Zealand stages and epochs are not the same as internationally defined periods and epochs (e.g. the Wanganui epoch started at 5.33 Ma which is within the
Neogene period and matches the start of the international
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...](_blank)
and
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
epochs).
List of New Zealand geologic time epochs and stages
Times given indicate the start of the respective stages and epochs. Several of these stages are further divided into upper and lower or upper, middle, and lower, although this has not been noted below unless unique names have been given to these sub-stages. As with the international geologic scale, these epochs and stages are largely named for locales where rock dating from these time periods is in evidence, with stage names predominantly but not always named for locales close to their epoch's namesake site. Where known, these places are also linked in the list below.
Cenozoic Era
Mesozoic Era
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
Period
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...
Period
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...
Period
Palaeozoic Era
Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...
Period
Carboniferous Period
Devonian Period
Stages prior to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period use either international (Devonian/Silurian) or Australian (Ordovician/Cambrian) geologic stage names; very little New Zealand rock is known from these geologic periods.
Silurian Period
Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya.
T ...
Period
Cambrian Period
Proterozoic, Archaean and Hadaean Aeons
Footnotes to time scale
# This stage is sometimes further divided into Mangaoran (lower) and Waikatoan (upper). These are named after Mangaora Inlet (an arm of
Kawhia Harbour
Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwe ...
) and the
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...
.
# This stage is sometimes further divided into Kiriteherean (lower) and Marokopan (upper). These are named after the
Marokopa River and the nearby
Kiritehere Stream.
# Until the late 1960s, the Flettian and Barettian stages were together known as the Braxtonian stage (see Waterhouse 1969). This was named for
Braxton Burn, a stream near
Mossburn.
# Where not subdivided usual reason is no stages recognised due to absent record
See also
*
Stratigraphy of New Zealand
References
Other References
*Bishop, D.G., and Turnbull, I.M. (compilers) (1996). ''Geology of the Dunedin Area''. Lower Hutt, NZ: Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences. .
*Hollis, C.J., Beu, A.G., Crampton, J.S., Crundwell, M.P., Morgans, H.E.G., Raine, J.I., Jones, C.M., Boyes, A.F. (2010). Calibration of the New Zealand Cretaceous - Cenozoic Timescale to GTS2004, GNS Science Report, 2010/43, 20p.
*Waterhouse, J.B. (1969).
World correlations of New Zealand Permian stages" ''New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics,'' 12:4, pp. 713–737
External links
*{{cite web, url=https://www.gns.cri.nz/assets/Data-and-Resources/Download-files/New-Zealand-Geological-Timescale/Timescale_Card_2015_poster.pdf , title=New Zealand geologic timescale poster 2015 (PDF format) , last1=Raine , first1=Ian , date=2015-03-20
*
Paleozoic Oceania
Mesozoic Oceania
Cenozoic Oceania
Regional geologic time scales
Stratigraphy