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Paleogene Period
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Eocene paleogeography geologic time Paleogene Period in geologic time
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Eocene paleogeography
Eocene paleogeography Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins during the middle of the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.

Paleogene Period

geochronology
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Also known as: Palaeogene Period
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Also spelled:
Palaeogene Period
geologic time
1 of 2
geologic timeThe stratigraphic chart of geologic time.
Paleogene Period in geologic time
2 of 2
Paleogene Period in geologic timeThe Paleogene Period and its subdivisions.

Paleogene Period, oldest of the three stratigraphic divisions of the Cenozoic Era spanning the interval between 66 million and 23 million years ago. Paleogene is Greek meaning “ancient-born” and includes the Paleocene (Palaeocene) Epoch (66 million to 56 million years ago), the Eocene Epoch (56 million to 33.9 million years ago), and the Oligocene Epoch (33.9 million to 23 million years ago). The term Paleogene was devised in Europe to emphasize the similarity of marine fossils found in rocks of the first three Cenozoic epochs, as opposed to the later fossils of the Neogene Period (23 million to 2.6 million years ago) and the Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to the present). In North America, the Cenozoic has traditionally been divided only into the Tertiary Period (66 million to 2.6 million years ago) and the Quaternary Period; however, the notion that the Tertiary should be replaced by the designations Paleogene and Neogene is becoming more widespread.

This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.