WELCOME TO THE CRETACEOUS PEROID
145-65 million years ago
What was the world like?
- During the Cretaceous period the Earth was very warm resulting in the absense of ice caps. This warming meant that the Earth's water levels were much higher then than they are today!
- The primary plant life consisted of conifers, angiosperms, and ferns. Angiosperms (flowering plants) were more prominent in the end of the Cretaceous period, while conifers florished in the early and middle Cretaceous.
- There were many shelled animals as well as dinosaurs such as Styracocaurs, Velociraptors, and the infamous Tyrannosaurus.
What major events occured?
A major event that occured during the Cretaceous period was the K/T mass extinction event, and is the 5th mass extinction event on Earth. The K/T boundry marked a turning point in Earth's history. Marine life, particulary marine microorganisms, were heavily effected and over half of the species of organisms on Earth went extinct. The dinosaurs, excluding modern birds, all went extinct in this event, most likley as a domino effect from the metor impact which is proposed to be the aggrivator of the K/T extinction event. The fossil record holds evidence of this event from the smallest microfossils to the complete absense of dinosaur remains!
What are some fun facts about the Cretaceous Period?
- During the Cretaceous period there was a large amount of sea floor spreading and oceanic crust formation which resulted in a superplume that was responsible for the Co2 production that warmed the atmosphere.
- There are many fossils found in modern day Alaska because of the presence of warm forests during the Cretacous period. The most notable is Edmontosaurus.
- The Cretaceous spanned roughly 80 million years, and within this time span the period can be divided into 12 geological stages. The earliest being the Berriasian (~ 144 Ma) and the latest being the Maastrichtian (~ 65 Ma).
Gale AS. The Cretaceous world. In: Culver SJ, Rawson PF, eds. Biotic Response to Global Change: The Last 145 Million Years. Cambridge University Press; 2000:4-19. Skelton, P. W., Spicer, R. A., Kelley, S. P., & Gilmour, I. (n.d.). The Cretaceous World. Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=UaD1WeZcDrwC&lpg=PA8&ots=6szQpWZOLu&dq=what+kind+of+life+lived+in+the+cretaceous&lr&pg=PA163#v=onepage&q=what%20kind%20of%20life%20lived%20in%20the%20cretaceous&f=false
WELCOME TO THE CRETACEOUS PEROID
Abigail Guelde
Created on February 22, 2026
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Transcript
WELCOME TO THE CRETACEOUS PEROID
145-65 million years ago
What was the world like?
What major events occured?
A major event that occured during the Cretaceous period was the K/T mass extinction event, and is the 5th mass extinction event on Earth. The K/T boundry marked a turning point in Earth's history. Marine life, particulary marine microorganisms, were heavily effected and over half of the species of organisms on Earth went extinct. The dinosaurs, excluding modern birds, all went extinct in this event, most likley as a domino effect from the metor impact which is proposed to be the aggrivator of the K/T extinction event. The fossil record holds evidence of this event from the smallest microfossils to the complete absense of dinosaur remains!
What are some fun facts about the Cretaceous Period?
Gale AS. The Cretaceous world. In: Culver SJ, Rawson PF, eds. Biotic Response to Global Change: The Last 145 Million Years. Cambridge University Press; 2000:4-19. Skelton, P. W., Spicer, R. A., Kelley, S. P., & Gilmour, I. (n.d.). The Cretaceous World. Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=UaD1WeZcDrwC&lpg=PA8&ots=6szQpWZOLu&dq=what+kind+of+life+lived+in+the+cretaceous&lr&pg=PA163#v=onepage&q=what%20kind%20of%20life%20lived%20in%20the%20cretaceous&f=false