Holocene Epoch

Holocene epoch (hŏl`əsēn) or Recent epoch, most recent of all subdivisions of geologic time, ranging from the present back to the time (c.11,000 years ago) of almost complete withdrawal of the glaciers of the preceding Pleistocene epoch. During the Holocene epoch, the sculpturing of the earth's surface to its present form was completed. Withdrawal of the glacial ice resulted in the development of the present-day drainage basins of the Missouri and Ohio rivers, the development of the Great Lakes, and a global rise in sea level of up to 100 ft (30 m) as the glacial meltwater was returned to the seas. Warming climates resulted in the poleward migration of plants and animals. The most significant development during the Holocene was the rise of modern humans, who are thought to have first appeared in the late Pleistocene. All of the races of modern humans were fully developed, with eventual worldwide distribution. Human culture developed during this epoch from a primitive one to the complex industrial society of today, in which humans themselves have become a significant factor in altering the earth's surface environment. See Geologic Timescale (table).

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Holocene Epoch

 formerly Recent Epoch

Latest interval of the Earth's geologic history, dating from 10,000 years ago to the present. The younger of the two epochs that constitute the Quaternary Period, the Holocene follows the last glacial stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. It is characterized by relatively warm climatic conditions. During this epoch humans have refined the skills that have led to the present level of civilization.

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Holocene Epoch 

the Postglacial epoch, the contemporary geological epoch containing the existing, still unended section of the Antropogenic (Quaternary) period of earth’s geologic history. The beginning of the Holocene epoch coincided with the last continental glaciation in northern Europe, and it is considered to date from the glacier’s retreat from the Salpausselkä recessional moraines in southern Finland, which began about 10,000 years ago. The Holocene epoch is divided into sections corresponding to the successive stages of changes in climate, which are established primarily by studying remains of vegetation in contemporary peat bogs. During the Holocene epoch dry land and oceans took on their present outlines, geographic zones were established, and the floodplain terraces of rivers were formed. Almost two-thirds of the Holocene epoch has occurred in historic times.

E. V. SHANTSER