Dinantian

Dinantian is the name of a series or epoch from the Lower Carboniferous system in Europe. It can stand for a series of rocks in Europe 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 of the ICS. It also correlates with the Avonian, a name proposed by British geologist Arthur Vaughan (1905; p. 264) for certain deposits of the Lower Carboniferous system in the Avon Gorge at Bristol. The Dinantian is named for the Belgian city and province of Dinant where strata of this age occur. The name is still used among European geologists.