Article
Article
- Earth Science
- Geology and geodesy
- Pleistocene
Pleistocene
Article By:
Haq, Bilal U. Division of Ocean Sciences, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia.
Last reviewed:December 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.528200
Show previous versions
- Pleistocene, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Subdivisions
- Glaciations and climate
- Oceans
- Pleistocene life
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
The older of the two epochs of the Quaternary Period (the younger being the Holocene). The Pleistocene Epoch/Series represents the interval of geological time (and rocks accumulated during that time) extending from the end of the Pliocene Epoch/Series (and the end of the Tertiary Period) to the start of the Holocene Epoch/Series (Fig. 1). The Pleistocene Epoch includes the time interval from about 2.6 million years ago (MYA) to 10,000 years ago. The Pleistocene is commonly considered to be the epoch in which the Earth entered its most recent phase of widespread glaciations. See also: Quaternary
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