Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
OUTLINE
Introduction
The Breakup of Pangaea
Mesozoic History of North America
What Role Did Accretion of Terranes Play in the Growth
of Western North America?
Mesozoic Mineral Resources
Life of the Mesozoic Era
GEO-INSIGHT: Dinosaurs
GEO-FOCUS: Mary Anning's Contributions to Paleontology
Mesozoic Climates and Paleogeography
Mass Extinctions—A Crisis in the History of Life
Geo-Recap
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, you will have learned that
The Mesozoic breakup of Pangaea profoundly affected
geologic and biologic events.
Most of North America was above sea level during much of the
Mesozoic Era.
A global rise in sea level during the Cretaceous Period resulted
in an enormous interior seaway that divided North America
into two large landmasses.
Western North America was affected by four interrelated
orogenies that took place at an oceanic-continental convergent
plate boundary.
Terrane accretion also affected the Mesozoic geologic history
of western North America.
Marine invertebrates that survived the Permian extinctions
diversifi ed and repopulated the Mesozoic seas.
Land-plant communities changed markedly when fl owering
plants evolved during the Cretaceous.
This Mesozoic scene shows the 10-m-long carnivorous dinosaur Baryonyx and
two large herbivorous dinosaurs in the background. Dinosaurs are the most
popular of all extinct organisms, and restorations such as this one bring them
to life at least in our mind's eye.
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