Capitol Reef National Park59-এর মধ্যে 18 নম্বর পাতা
Mesozoic Era
Mesozoic Time Span
- Date range: 251.9 million years ago–66.0 million years ago
- Length: 185.9 million years (4.1% of geologic time)
- Geologic calendar: December 12 (1 AM)–December 26 (6 PM) (14 days, 17 hours)
Introduction
The Mesozoic Era (251.9 to 66.0 million years ago) was the "Age of Reptiles." During the Mesozoic, Pangaea began separating into the modern continents, and the modern Rocky Mountains rose. Dinosaurs, crocodiles, and pterosaurs ruled the land and air. As climate changed and rapid plate tectonics resulted in shallow ocean basins, sea levels rose world-wide and seas expanded across the center of North America. Large marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, along with the coiled-shell ammonites, flourished in these seas. Common Mesozoic fossils include dinosaur bones and teeth, and diverse plant fossils.
Mesozoic Resources
The Mesozoic Era is further divided into three Periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous. A few examples of NPS resources in each time Period are highlighted below.
- Cretaceous Period—145.0 to 66.0 MYA — Many now-arid western parks, including Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Mesa Verde National Park, were inundated by the Cretaceous Interior Seaway that bisected North America. Massive dinosaur and other reptile fossils are found in Cretaceous rocks of Big Bend National Park.
- Jurassic Period—201.3 to 145.0 MYA — Dinosaur National Monument is home to thousands of dinosaur fossils making it a true “Jurassic Park.” A vast desert covered Southwest North America in the Jurassic, and ancient sand dunes now form tall cliffs in many parks including Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
- Triassic Period—251.9 to 201.3 MYA — The brightly colored Triassic rocks of Petrified Forest National Park yield not only the petrified trees but many other plant and animal fossils.
Mesozoic “Age of Reptiles” Coloring Pages
[Site Under Development]
Prehistoric Life in the National Parks Coloring Book
Visit—Mesozoic Parks
Every park contains some slice of geologic time. Here we highlight a few parks associated with Mesozoic Era. This is not to say that a particular park has only rocks from the specified period. Rather, rocks in selected parks exemplify a certain event or preserve fossils or rocks from a certain geologic age.
Arches National Park (ARCH), Utah—[ARCH Geodiversity Atlas] [ARCH Park Home] [ARCH npshistory.com]
Badlands National Park (BADL), South Dakota—[BADL Geodiversity Atlas] [BADL Park Home] [BADL npshistory.com]
Big Bend National Park (BIBE), Texas—[BIBE Geodiversity Atlas] [BIBE Park Home] [BIBE npshistory.com]
Canyon de Chelly National Monument (CACH), Arizona—[CACH Geodiversity Atlas] [CACH Park Home] [CACH npshistory.com]
Canyonlands National Park (CANY), Utah—[CANY Geodiversity Atlas] [CANY Park Home] [CANY npshistory.com]
Capitol Reef National Park (CARE), Utah—[CARE Geodiversity Atlas] [CARE Park Home] [CARE npshistory.com]
Chaco Culture National Historical Park (CHCU), New Mexico—[CHCU Geodiversity Atlas] [CHCU Park Home] [CHCU npshistory.com]
Denali National Park (DENA), Alaska—[DENA Geodiversity Atlas] [DENA Park Home] [DENA npshistory.com]
Dinosaur National Monument (DINO), Colorado & Utah—[DINO Geodiversity Atlas] [DINO Park Home] [DINO npshistory.com]
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GLCA), Arizona & Utah—[GLCA Geodiversity Atlas] [GLCA Park Home] [GLCA npshistory.com]
Katmai National Park (KATM), Alaska—[KATM Geodiversity Atlas] [KATM Park Home] [KATM npshistory.com]
Lake Clark National Park (LACL), Alaska—[LACL Geodiversity Atlas] [LACL Park Home] [LACL npshistory.com]
Mesa Verde National Park (MEVE), Colorado—[MEVE Geodiversity Atlas] [MEVE Park Home] [MEVE npshistory.com]
Missouri National Recreational River (MNRR), Nebraska and South Dakota—[MNRR Geodiversity Atlas] [MNRR Park Home] [MNRR npshistory.com]
Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO), Arizona—[PEFO Geodiversity Atlas] [PEFO Park Home] [PEFO npshistory.com]
Rainbow Bridge National Monument (RABR), Utah—[RABR Geodiversity Atlas] [RABR Park Home] [RABR npshistory.com]
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (SEKI), California—[SEKI Geodiversity Atlas] [SEKI Park Home] [SEKI npshistory.com]
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (WRST), Alaska—[WRST Geodiversity Atlas] [WRST Park Home] [WRST npshistory.com]
Wupatki National Monument (WUPA), Arizona—[WUPA Geodiversity Atlas] [WUPA Park Home] [WUPA npshistory.com]
Yosemite National Park (YOSE), California—[YELL Geodiversity Atlas] [YELL Park Home] [YELL npshistory.com]
Zion National Park (ZION), Utah—[ZION Geodiversity Atlas] [ZION Park Home] [ZION npshistory.com]
Featured Articles
- Fossils of the 2018 National Fossil Day Artwork — The Quetzalcoatlus graphic is the official National Fossil Day 2018 artwork. It can be used to promote NFD 2018 activities and events and includes the date October 17, 2018.
- Fossils of the 2014 National Fossil Day Artwork — The 2014 National Fossil Day artwork features an ancient reptile, known as an aetosaur, surrounded by a variety of Late Triassic plants. The scene is an idealized representation of a Mesozoic Era ecosystem which was the theme for the 2014 National Fossil Day.
- Fossils of the 2011 National Fossil Day Artwork — A fearsome predator of warm Cretaceous seas, the mosasaur was featured on the 2011 National Fossil Day artwork
Related Links
►
Fossils Through Geologic Time—Site Index
Pennsylvanian: 323.2 to 298.9 MYA
Mississippian: 358.9 to 323.2 MYA
Ordovician: 485.4 to 443.8 MYA
Part of a series of articles titled
Geologic Time—Major Divisions and NPS Fossils.
Previous:
Cenozoic Era
Next:
Paleozoic Era
Where this belongs
- Arches National Park
- Badlands National Park
- Big Bend National Park
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument
- Canyonlands National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park
Where this page came from
This page was imported from National Park Service. Produced by the U.S. National Park Service and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain.
Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.