16 sketches

Mesozoic Era

L if e E

v e n ts

( c h

o o s e 1

)

 Great Dying: what it is, when it occurred, what types of life it affected, and a summary and evaluation of each of the possible causes

 Earliest dinosaurs and their ancestors: what they were, when they lived, what factors led to the dominance of dinosaurs

 Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs: the names and characteristics of the main types, and how they lived

 Ammonites: what they were, where and how they lived, their variation in characteristics with time, and importance for determining the ages of Mesozoic rocks

 Rudist reefs: what they are, what types of organisms form them, how they are expressed in the rock record and some examples

 Rocks and fossils of the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert (AZ): the age, name, and sequence of rocks, the environments in which they are interpreted to have formed, and how the geologic events led to these places

 Dinosaur National Park (UT-CO): the age, name, and sequence of rocks, the environments in which they are interpreted to have formed, and how later geologic events affected the rock layers

 Early mammals: what they were, when they lived, how they lived, and what later creatures are related to them

 Rise of angiosperm (flowering plants): when this type of plant first developed, what the characteristics are, how they are expressed in the rock record (including pollen), and how they changed the appearance of landscapes and the behavior of creatures

G e o lo

g ic

E v e n ts

( c h o o s e 1

)  Jurassic rocks of Zion National Park (UT): the age and characteristic of each formation in the sequence of rocks, the environment in which each formation is interpreted to have formed, and how the sequence of rocks is expressed in the scenery

 Capitol Reef and Grand Staircase (UT): the ages, names, and characteristics of Mesozoic formations, the environments in which the main layers formed, and later geologic events that helped shape the scenery

 Mesa Verde National Park (CO): the age and characteristic of each formation in the sequence of rocks, the environment in which each formation is interpreted to have formed, and how the sequence of rocks is expressed in the scenery and influenced the people who built the cliff dwellings

 Sierra Nevada (CA): the ages and types of rocks exposed in the high part of the Sierra Nevada, the tectonic setting in which they are interpreted to have formed, and processes that resulted in present-day scenery

 Franciscan Formation and Great Valley sequence (CA): what they are, their characteristic rock types and structures, and the tectonic setting in which they are interpreted to have formed

 Sonoma orogeny: what and where it is, when it occurred, its tectonic setting, and how it is expressed in the rock record

 Nevadan orogeny: what and where it is, when it occurred, its tectonic setting, and how it is expressed in the rock record

 Sevier orogeny: what and where it is, when it occurred, its tectonic setting, and how it is expressed in the rock record

 Breakup of Pangaea and dispersal of Gondwana: how the distribution of continents changed due to the breakup of Pangaea and Gondwana, and when different ocean basins were formed

 Wrangellia: what it is, its characteristic ages and sequence of rocks, the tectonic setting in which it is interpreted to have formed, and its present-day distribution and interpretations of this distribution

 Formation of the Atlantic Ocean and resulting movement of North America: when and how different parts of the Atlantic Ocean formed, and how continents on either side moved with time

 Cretaceous interior seaway: what and where it is, when it occurred, its tectonic setting, and how it is expressed in the rock record

 Bisbee Group of southern Arizona: what and where it is, when it occurred, its tectonic setting, and how it is expressed in the rock record

 Laramide calderas of southern Arizona: what and where they are, the types of rocks they contain, and how they are interpreted to have formed (e.g., Tucson Mountains, Silverbell Mountains, and Tombstone Hills)

 Monoclines of the Colorado Plateau: what and where they are, when they formed, models for how they formed, overall tectonic setting, how they are expressed in the scenery, and names and location of examples

R e s o

u rc

e s (

c h

o o s e 1

)

 Laramide copper deposits (AZ and NM): what they are, where they occur, their characteristic rock types, hydrothermal alteration and mineralization, how they are interpreted to have formed

 San Juan Basin and energy resources: the location and structural setting of the basin, the main sequence of rock layers, the environment in which each layer is interpreted to have formed, the types of energy resources discovered in the basin, and how each resource is extracted

 Overthrust belt of central Utah and eastern Idaho: what it is, some typical structural geometries, when it formed, and its importance in petroleum resources

 Uranium deposits in Mesozoic rocks of the Colorado Plateau: the characteristic of each type of uranium deposit hosted by Mesozoic rocks, where each type occurs, and how each is interpreted to have formed