The Norian is a division of the Triassic Period. It has the rank of an age (geochronology) or stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227 to 208.5 million years ago. It was preceded by the Carnian and succeeded by the Rhaetian.
Cast of a tridactyl footprint of a theropod dinosaur from the Norian of the Czech Republic.
The Triassic is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period of the Mesozoic Era. Both the start and end of the period are marked by major extinction events. The Triassic Period is subdivided into three epochs: Early Triassic, Middle Triassic and Late Triassic.
Early Triassic sandstone (Buntsandstein) near Stadtroda, Germany
Middle Triassic Muschelkalk (shell-bearing limestone) near Dörzbach, Germany
Late Triassic Steigerwald Formation and overlying Hassberge Formation in Schönbuch, Germany
Sydney, Australia lies on Triassic shales and sandstones. Almost all of the exposed rocks around Sydney belong to the Triassic Sydney sandstone.