Eon is the longest primary time unit used in geology. Based on the emergence of fauna and flora, geologic history can be divided into: (1) the Archean Eon, which lacks fossils; (2) the Proterozoic Eon, which has numerous fossils; and (3) the Phanerozoic Eon, which has abundant fossils. An eon can be subdivided into eras. An eonothem is all of the rocks that formed during a certain eon. It is the largest unit of chronostratigraphic units; examples are the Archean Eonothem, Proterozoic Eonothem and Phanerozoic Eonothem.
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(2020). Eon and Eonothem. In: Chen, A., Ng, Y., Zhang, E., Tian, M. (eds) Dictionary of Geotourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_639
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