GENERAL GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Quaternary Period is divided into two epochs, from youngest to oldest: the Holocene and Pleistocene. We are living in the Holocene.

Detailed explanation-2: -The quaternary period began 2.6 million years ago and extends into the present. Climate change and the developments it spurs carry the narrative of the Quaternary, the most recent 2.6 million years of Earth’s history. Glaciers advance from the Poles and then retreat, carving and molding the land with each pulse.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Quaternary epoch is named for relatively recent deposits that include fossils of present species. The process began during the Pleistocene period (1 million years ago) and continues through the Holocene epoch. The alluvium discovered in the Indo-Gangetic plain represents this period.

Detailed explanation-4: -Over the past 740, 000 years there have been eight glacial cycles. The entire Quaternary Period, starting 2.58 Ma, is referred to as an ice age because at least one permanent large ice sheet-the Antarctic ice sheet-has existed continuously.

Detailed explanation-5: -Examples of giant Pleistocene mammals include the giant beaver, giant sloth, stag-moose, dire wolf, giant short-faced bear of the New World, and cave bear of the Old World. The woolly mammoth and mastodon are rivaled in size only by modern elephants.