Cenozoic era how long

Fossils and Paleontology. National Fossil Day. Geologic Time. You Might Also Like. Loading results Tags: fossils paleontology geology geologic time. Related Articles Go! Related People Loading results Related Places Loading results What plants were on Earth during the Pliocene Epoch?

What was Virginia like during the Pliocene Epoch? What did Earth look like during the Pleistocene Epoch? What animals were on Earth during the Pleistocene? What plants were on Earth during the Pleistocene? What was Virginia like during the Pleistocene?

Back to the Mesozoic. Back to the Paleozoic. Back to the Introduction. Skip to main content. Nearly every plant living today had its roots in the Cenozoic era. During the early part of the era, forests overran most of North America. However, as the climate cooled forests died off, creating open land. Due to the widening of the oceans, sharks, whales and other marine life proliferated.

The Great Lakes that formed in the western United States during the Eocene epoch were the perfect home for bass, trout and other fresh-water species. As the forests thinned, grasses began to spread out over the plains of North America and savannas covered the land in the middle of the continent.

Among the common plant life were pines, mosses, oaks and grasses. Flowering plants and edible crops dominate the landscape in the later part of this era as humans cultivate the land. Precambrian: Facts About the Beginning of Time. In some places, thick glacial deposits called glacial drift have formed deep soils.

Volcanic ash blown in from the west during this period is now found under ground. Winds deposited loess fine silt over wide areas, and streams flowing south to the Arkansas River carried sand, silt, and gravel eroded from older rocks in the High Plains to the north to form alluvial deposits in south-central Kansas.

Large mammals—including mammoths , camels , saber-toothed cats , and horses—lived in Kansas during the Pleistocene, but most died off during a mass extinction 9,—12, years ago. Bison bones and human artifacts, dating back 11, years, have been found together.