Part A
The Cretaceous Period
The last period of the Mesozoic Era, the Cretaceous Period spans 79 million years of geologic history (see Figure 13-2). Named for the massive chalk beds of western Europe, the Cretaceous Period was packed with significant geologic and biologic events (much like the preceding Jurassic Period). This age is well-represented by rocks and fossils all around the world, including North America.
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Figure 13-2. The official ICS geologic time scale used worldwide (left) and its Cretaceous section (right). |
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Cretaceous Geologic Time
Let's return to our geologic time scale to get familiar with the Cretaceous Period (see Figure 13-3). Dates on the timeline in Figure 13-3 are based on the 2020/03 ICS time scale. It is not drawn to scale as its focus is including all of the Periods of the Phanerozoic Eon and all of the Epochs of the Cenozoic Era.
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Figure 13-3. Geologic time chart compiled from the 2020/03 ICS version. |
* IMPORTANT *
Using the PDF link above, print a hard-copy version of this chart for use in this lab.
Refer to the simplified geologic time chart in Figure 13-3 to answer Quiz Me! questions A01 through A03.
