What is "riphean"

Riphean may refer to

• Riphean Mountains, mentioned by authors of classical antiquity
• Ural Mountains, believed by some to be the Riphean mountains
• Riphean (stage), a stage in the geological timescale named after the Urals

The Riphean is a stage or age of the geologic timescale from . The name Riphean is used in the Proterozoic stratigraphy of the Siberian Craton in Russia. It was also used in a number of older international geologic timescales but is in the most recent timescales of the ICS replaced by the Ectasian, Stenian and Tonian periods of the Neo- and Mesoproterozoic eras.

The word 'Riphean' comes from the ancient Riphean Mountains, sometimes identified with the Ural Mountains.