Messinian
![Messinian gypsum and clay deposits in the Sorbas basin near Sorbas, southern Spain. Evaporite deposits of Messinian age are common throughout the Mediterranean.](/Images/godic/202501/27/Gypsum_cones0719.jpg")
The Messinian is in the geologic timescale the last age or uppermost stage of the Miocene. It spans the time between 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma and 5.332 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Tortonian and is followed by the Zanclean, the first age of the Pliocene.