Dinantian is the name of a series or

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided by ...

from the Lower Carboniferous

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

in Europe. It can stand for a series of rocks in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

or the time span in which they were deposited. The Dinantian is equal to the lower part of the Mississippian series in the international

geologic timescale The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronol ...

of the ICS. The Dinantian is named for the Belgian city of

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

where strata of this age occur. The name is still used among European geologists. Earlier terms for the Dinantian were

Bernician Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Angles, Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. The Anglian territory ...

from the Anglo-Scottish borderland, and Avonian (divided into upper (Kidwellian) and lower (Clevedonian) substages) from

Kidwelly Kidwelly ( cy, Cydweli) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. In the 2001 census the community of Kidwelly returned a population of 3,289, inc ...

on the Welsh and Clevedon on the English sides of the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

References

{{Geological history, p, p, state=collapsed Mississippian geochronology Carboniferous Europe Stratigraphy of Europe Carboniferous Ireland Carboniferous Wales Carboniferous United Kingdom Dinant Carboniferous geochronology