Prelude
Events of the Paleogene and Neogene Periods formed many of the geologic features and landscapes that we are familiar with, including large mountain ranges like the Alps, Andes, and Rockies, as well as the Basin and Range in the western U.S.A. and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. A relatively warm global climate dominated until the latter part of the Paleogene, when ice began to accumulate in Antarctica as it became isolated from other continental masses. This initiated the single most dominant geologic event of the Cenozoic Era: the Ice Age that is currently ongoing. Many exotic life forms existed during this time that were equally as wondrous or terrifying as the dinosaurs. The lifestyles of many animals changed as a result of a cooling climate and the appearance of grass during the early to middle Cenozoic. Mammals and fish flourished in the oceans, and birds filled the skies. Saber-toothed cats and giant terror birds roamed lands that were fast becoming more recognizable relative to today. The very end of the Neogene witnessed the rise of "the Great Apes" of Family Hominidae.
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Figure 14-1. Paleogene and Neogene formed fantastic geology and landscapes. The folds and thrust faults exposed in the southwest face of Dent de Morcles in the Swiss Alps represent Paleogene compressional tectonics (left). The landscape of Death Valley, California (right) represents Neogene extensional tectonics that formed the Basin and Range physiographic province of western North America. |
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What Will You Do Today?
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Explore the geologic history of the Paleogene and Neogene Periods, including the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, and Pliocene Epochs |
A. The Paleogene & Neogene Periods - Review the first two periods of the Cenozoic Era
B. Paleogene & Neogene Geology & Life Forms - Learn more about Paleogene and Neogene geology and life forms
C. Geology of Bryce Canyon - Study the Paleogene geology of southern Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park
D. Phoenix Area Geology - Decipher the Paleogene and Neogene geology of the Phoenix area