The Late Cretaceous (99.6 – 65.5 Ma) is the youngest of two epochs in which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series. The Cretaceous is named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from Late Cretaceous time.
During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropi...
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The Late Cretaceous (99.6 – 65.5 Ma) is the youngest of two epochs in which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series. The Cretaceous is named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from Late Cretaceous time.
During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions.
Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the southern hemisphere, Australia and Antarctica seem to have remained connected and began to drift away from Africa and South America. Europe, interestingly, was an island chain. Populating some of these islands were endemic dwarf dinosaur species.
This was a...
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