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Carboniferous Period
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Carboniferous paleogeography A detailed geologic time scale chart displaying Earth's history from the Hadean Eon over 4.5 billion years ago to the present, organized by eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages with color-coded columns and corresponding dates in millions of years. Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins during the Late Carboniferous. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are cold and warm ocean currents. The present-day coastlines and tectonic boundaries of the configured continents are shown in the inset. Paleogeographic map depicting the arrangement of continents during the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian periods, with a large shaded area showing the extent of the Permo-Carboniferous ice sheet around the ancient South Pole. Arrows indicate the direction of ice sheet movement, and dashed lines outline the ice sheet boundary. The map illustrates continental drift and plate tectonics concepts. Fossilized remains of Cryptoblastus, an extinct genus of blastoids collected from the Burlington Limestone, Iowa. Dielasma, a genus of extinct brachiopods (lamp shells) occurring as fossils in Carboniferous and Permian rocks. Pennsylvanian coal forest A chart detailing the Carboniferous period within the Paleozoic era, showing its division into Mississippian and Pennsylvanian subperiods, with corresponding epochs, ages, and their ranges in millions of years ago. Illustration of the extinct Edaphosaurus, a pelycosaur, showing a reptile-like animal with a large, sail-like fin on its back, squat limbs, and a long tail. A scale bar indicates size. A timeline chart shows major events in plant evolution alongside the geologic time scale, with illustrations of algae, mosses, ferns, ginkgoes, conifers, cycads, and flowering plants marking their first appearances from the Ordovician to the Cenozoic era. Key milestones such as the emergence of early vascular plants and seed plants are labeled with approximate millions of years ago.
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Carboniferous Period summary
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Carboniferous Period: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Discussions of the Carboniferous Period are included in Reed Wicander and James S. Monroe, Historical Geology, 5th ed. (2007); William B.N. Berry, Growth of a Prehistoric Time Scale: Based on Organic Evolution, rev. ed (1987); and Steven M. Stanley, Earth and Life Through Time, 2nd ed. (1989). The results of ongoing research in the field are presented at congresses and published as International Congress on Carboniferous Stratigraphy and Geology, Compte rendu (irregular), including materials in French, English, and German. The Decade of North American Geology project of the Geological Society of America includes works on Carboniferous geology in many of its series of publications. Another series, undertaken by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), summarizes the Carboniferous geology of all continents: Carlos Martinez Diaz (ed.), The Carboniferous of the World (1983– ).

Walter L. Manger

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: PNAS - Formation of most of our coal brought Earth close to global glaciation. Oct 01, 2026
Add new Web site: The National Academies - The Carboniferous-Early Permian: High Oxygen, Fires, and Giants. Dec 13, 2025
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - The influence of Carboniferous palaeoatmospheres on plant function: an experimental and modelling assessment. Sep 05, 2025
Add new Web site: Lyell Collection - The Carboniferous timescale: an introduction. Nov 28, 2023
Add new Web site: Academia - The geology and terrestrial life of the Carboniferous. Aug 25, 2023
Add new Web site: University of Waterloo - Earth Sciences Museum - Carboniferous Period. Jun 15, 2023
Add new Web site: PNAS - Formation of most of our coal brought Earth close to global glaciation. Apr 21, 2023
Text added that updates the interval's boundary years. May 09, 2013
Text added that updates the interval's boundary years. May 08, 2013
Text added noting the presence of large dragonfly-like insects (the Protodonata) during the Carboniferous Period and the suggestion that high oxygen concentrations present during the time may have played a role in their growth to large sizes. Jan 11, 2013
Add new Web site: Fact Monster - Science - Carboniferous period. Nov 22, 2011
Add new Web site: British Broadcasting Corporation - Carboniferous Period. Nov 21, 2011
Add new Web site: National Geographic - Science and Space - Carboniferous Period. Sep 16, 2011
Removed Carboniferous time scale. Jul 12, 2011
Map depicting the configuration of landmasses present during the Carboniferous Period added. Aug 27, 2010
Period-level geologic time chart added. Dec 28, 2009
Period-level geologic time chart added. Stage boundary years updated. Dec 04, 2009
Added new Web site: National Geographic - Science - Carboniferous Period. Apr 17, 2009
Added new Web site: PBS - Evolution - Carboniferous Period (354-290 mya). Jul 17, 2008
Added new Web site: Isle of Arran Heritage Museum - The Carboniferous Period. Apr 18, 2008
Added new Web site: Geocraft - Climate and the Carboniferous Period. Apr 18, 2008
Added new Web site: Palaeos - The Carboniferous Period. Apr 09, 2008
Added new Web site: Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History - Carboniferous Period. Apr 09, 2008
Article revised and updated. Jun 15, 2007
Bibliography revised. May 21, 2007
Added new Web site: University of California Museum of Paleontology - The Carboniferous Period. Jan 10, 2007
Article added to new online database. Jul 26, 1999
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