Chattian

The Chattian is a part of Earth's history, known as a stage in the geologic timescale. It is the younger of two ages in the Oligocene Epoch, which is a time long ago when the world looked quite different from today. The Chattian lasted from about 27.3 million years ago to 23.04 million years ago.

Before the Chattian came the Rupelian stage, and after it came the Aquitanian, which is the first stage of the Miocene Epoch. Scientists use these stages to help understand and organize the many layers of rock and the fossils found in them, giving us clues about life and climate from millions of years ago.

Stratigraphic definition

The Chattian was named by an Austrian scientist in 1894 after an old German tribe. It marks a specific time in Earth's history.

The start of the Chattian is defined by a change in tiny sea creatures called forams. The end of the Chattian is marked by the appearance of another type of foram, along with changes in other tiny organisms and magnetic patterns in rocks.

The Chattian matches up with different local time divisions used in many parts of the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the eastern United States.

Volcanic event

During the Chattian, a very big eruption happened called the Fish Canyon eruption of La Garita. It was the largest single-event eruption known, and it occurred around 27.51 million years ago.