Zanclean

The Zanclean is the earliest part of the Pliocene on the geologic time scale. It lasted from about 5.332 million years ago to 3.6 million years ago. This time period came after the Messinian Age of the Miocene Epoch and was followed by the Piacenzian Age.

The Zanclean can be matched with other regional stages used around the world. For example, it is linked to the Opoitian stage in New Zealand, and the Tabianian or Dacian stages in Central Europe. In California, the Zanclean roughly matches the middle part of the Delmontian stage. It also corresponds to a time between the late Hemphillian and mid-Blancan periods in North America.

Definition

The Zanclean Stage was named by Giuseppe Seguenza in 1868. It gets its name from Zancle, an old name for the Italian city of Messina on Sicily.

The Zanclean marks the start of the Pliocene time period. Scientists look at tiny fossils and magnetic patterns in rocks to define when it began and ended. This helps us learn about how Earth's climate and life have changed over millions of years.

Events of the Zanclean

The Zanclean flood began this age and ended the Messinian. Water poured in from the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. This filled the Mediterranean Basin and ended a time when the Mediterranean Sea had dried up.

Later, in the late Zanclean, deposits formed in the Everglades as tropical waters returned to the area.