Cratonic Sequences of North America

2. White areas represent sequences of rocks Cratonic Sequences of North America • that are separated by large-scale uncon-formities • shown in brown

3. During the Triassic Period Paleogeography of the World

4. Jurassic

5. During the Late Cretaceous Period Paleogeography of the World

6. Evaporites accumulated in shallow basins as Pangaea broke apart during the Early Mesozoic Water from the Tethys Sea flowed into the Central Atlantic Ocean Early Mesozoic Evaporites

7. Marine water flowed into the southern Atlantic Ocean from the south Thick Southern Ocean Evaporites

8. Late Cretaceousnote the seaway in central US

9. The world's climates result from the complex interaction between wind and ocean currents and the location and topography of the continents In general, dry climates occur on large landmasses in areas remote from sources of moisture and where barriers to moist air exist, such as mountain ranges Wet climates occur near large bodies of water or where winds can carry moist air over land Ocean Currents and Continents

11. Widespread Triassic evaporites, red beds, and desert dunes: such as Zion National Park which began in the Jurassic in the low and middle latitudes of North and South America, Europe, and Africa indicate dry climates in those regions, while coal deposits are found mainly in the high latitudes, indicating humid conditions These high-latitude coals are analogous to today's Scottish peat bog or Canadian muskeg Evaporites, Red Beds, Dunes, Coal

13. Newark and Hartford Basins formWidespread igneous intrusions • Areas where Triassic fault-block basin deposits • crop out in eastern North America

14. This sill was one of many that were intruded into the Newark sediments during the Late Triassic rifting that marked the separation of North America from Africa Palisades Sill of the Hudson River

15. Reptile Tracks Reptile tracks in the Triassic Newark Group were uncovered during the excavation for a new state building in Hartford, Connecticut Because the tracks were so spectacular, the building side was moved and the excavation was designated as a state park

16. Mesozoic Cephalapods

17. White Cliffs of Dover, UK

18. Lived and died in clear warm seas that covered much of Britain around 70 to 100 million years ago. When they died, they fell to the bottom in a rain of fine white mud. As chalk formed from the mud, layers and lumps of hard, glassy flint also developed - prized by stone-age man for tools.

19. Latimeria belongs to a group of fish once thought to have gone extinct at the end of the Mesozoic Era A specimen was caught off the coast of East Africa in 1938 Since then many more have been captured Living Fossil

20. Reptiles and Birds

21. All dinosaurs possess • a number of shared characteristics, • such as full and upright posture • with limbs directly beneath their bodies • yet differ enough for us to recognize • two distinct orders, • the Saurischia • and Ornithischia • A distinctive pelvic structure • characterizes each order

22. Cladogram showing dinosaur relationships showing pelvises of ornithischians and saurischians Among the several subgroups of dinosaurs Dinosaur Cladogram • theropods were carnivores • and all others were herbivores

23. Missoula, MTMuseum of the RockiesJack Horner, curator

24. Dinosaur Provincial ParkAlberta, Canada

33. m

34. 1966 Tracks discovered during construction project in Rocky Hill, CT 2066 Tracks discovered near Rocky Hill, CT

35. Top events of the Cenozoic • 65 myaCretaceous Sea dries upSubtropical climate in USPlate tectonics moves to the Western USFarallon Plate subducts under N.A. Today remnants are allegedly found under the eastern US uplift of the western states flow of the Colorado River formation of Grand Canyon begins

36. Formation of Panama – central America animals unique to N and S America now migrate and compete only one marsupial in NA • Camels, horses, sloths Australopithecines evolve before 1.8 myaLarge mammals such as mammoths, mastodons, saber tooth cats, dwell in cooling NASpecies of homo habilis and ancestors of homo sapiens evolve.NeanderthalHumans ice age over 1 my

37. Nov. 2011Asteroid YU55 passes Earth inside of moon’s orbit860,000 miles from Earth

38. A preliminary orbit calculation shows that 2012 DA14 has a very Earth-like orbit with a period of 366.24 days, just one more day than our terrestrial year, and it ‘jumps’ inside and outside of the path of Earth two times per year. While an impact with Earth has been ruled out on the asteroid’s next visit, astronomers will use that close approach for more studies and calculate the Earth and Moon’s gravitational effects on it. (Credit: Deimos-Space) Yellow: asteroid around sun Green: Earth orbit around sun Orbit of DA16 = 366.24 Earth days Orbit of Earth = 365.25

39. It’s back….Feb. 15th, 2013cannot pass closer than 3.2 Earth radii – about 17,000 miles