Cretaceous Period
145 Million years ago · Prehistoric
Approximately 145 million years ago, the Cretaceous Period began as the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era. Earth's landmasses were divided into two supercontinents, Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south, with Gondwana's fragmentation accelerating throughout the period. Flowering plants first appeared c. 125 million years ago. Spanning approximately 79 million years, it remains the longest period of the Phanerozoic Eon, ending with the mass extinction event at c. 66 million years ago.
Key Figures
Luis Walter AlvarezWalter AlvarezJean-Baptiste-Julien d'Omalius d'Halloy
Locations
AntarcticaParis BasinWestern Interior SeawayHell Creek Formation
Topics
dinosaursmesozoicperiodslife
Connected Events — 2 Connections
The Late Cretaceous Period represents the final subdivision of the broader Cretaceous Period, inheriting its continental configurations and dinosaur lineages while witnessing their ultimate diversification into iconic forms like T. rex Late Cretaceous Period
Continental drift during the Cretaceous separated Antarctica from other landmasses, creating the isolated continent that Operation Deep Freeze would explore, while fossil discoveries from this period found in Antarctic ice provided crucial evidence for continental drift theory Operation Deep Freeze
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