The history of Earth is divided into four great eons, starting 4,540 mya with the formation of the planet. Each eon saw the most significant changes in Earth's composition, climate and life. Each eon is subsequently divided into eras, which in turn are divided into periods, which are further divided into epochs.

This time represents Earth’s earliest history, during which the planet was characterized by a partially molten surface, volcanism, and asteroid impacts. Several mechanisms made the newly forming Earth incredibly hot: gravitational compression, radioactive decay, and asteroid impacts.

The geological history of Earth follows the major geological events in Earth's past based on the geologic time scale, a system of chronological measurement based on the study of the planet's rock layers (stratigraphy).

2025年1月17日 · geologic time, the extensive interval of time occupied by the geologic history of Earth. Formal geologic time begins at the start of the Archean Eon (4.0 billion to 2.5 billion years ago) and continues to the present day.

This article assembles some of the key events. From evolution to extinction, these are events that have unfolded as part of the Earth timeline. Though opinions vary, we’ve leaped through 4.5 billion years of Earth’s history and provided a general guideline.

Geologic history of Earth, evolution of the continents, oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere; the layers of rock at Earth’s surface contain evidence of the evolutionary processes undergone by these components of the terrestrial environment during the times at which each layer was formed.

2014年9月30日 · Explore key moments in Earth’s transformative history as continents drift and climate fluctuates over 4.6 billion years