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Cenozoic Era Began about 65 million years ago Present Era About 1.5% of Earth’s history Continents haven’t changed much Just a little closer to each other at the start of this Era Time of increased tectonic activity Mountain ranges formed Alps & Himalayas
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Dramatic changes in climate At times, continental ice sheets covered 1/3 of earth Various species became extinct and others appeared Mammals become dominant life-forms Age of Mammals
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Divided into 2 periods Tertiary ○ Time before last Ice Age Quaternary ○ Includes present Each period divided into Epochs
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Cooling As Australia and Antarctica split, worldwide cooling began Caused by change in ocean currents Previously warm water flowed from Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans to moderate Antarctica’s temperature Once split, Antarctica was isolated around South Pole Cold current began to flow Permanent ice cap grew during Oligocene
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Miocene Warming Climate warmed up again Ice cap began to melt Ocean flooded North America Trend reversed in middle of Miocene Set stage of Ice Ages
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Ice Ages Late Pliocene to Pleistocene Ice covered much of Northern Hemisphere Glaciers advanced and retreated at least four times Ohio and Missouri Rivers mark southernmost point of glaciers Glaciers carved our lakes and valleys we see today
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Mountain Building Erosion wore down Rocky Mountains but uplift continued Volcanism returned at the end of the Eocene
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Subduction in the West Oceanic plate subducted under Pacific Northwest Plate completely disappeared Cascade Mountains uplifted North American plate began to move against Pacific Plate Transform Boundary that created San Andreas Fault
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Basin & Range Province Created by North American moving against Pacific Plate Southwestern part of United States Hundreds of parallel mountains Formed as stress in crust pulled it apart
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Continental Collisions Final breakup of Pangaea Some continents separated while others collided Africa colliding with Eurasia built the Alps ○ Eliminated Tethys Ocean that once separated Eurasia and Gondwana ○ Remnants can be found in 4 bodies of water in Europe India crashed into Asia to form Himalayan Mountains
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Tectonic Forces Scientists think Earth is in a relatively warm phase Future climate will become cooler Tectonic forces continue to shape earth In about 250 million years, tectonic forces will largely eliminate the Atlantic Ocean and once again form a supercontinent
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Cenozoic Life Marine organisms survived mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Populated oceans during Cenozoic Era Forest began to dominate land Grasses appeared as climate cooled Diversification of many new mammals resulted
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Oligocene Epochs Climate continued to get drier and cooler Favored growth of grasses and cone- bearing and hardwood trees Earlier types of mammals became extinct Larger species flourished Deer, pigs, horses, camels, cats, & dogs
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Ice Age Climate began to cool and new animals evolved Mammoth Saber-toothed cat Modern Humans – Homo Sapiens
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Baby Mammoth http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/scienc enews/5262616/Secrets-of-37000-year-old-baby-mammoth- revealed.html http://img.rian.ru/images/10412/88/104128804.jpg
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Humans Bipedal locomotion First bipedal humanlike primates appeared about 6 million years ago during the Late Miocene Earliest modern humans appeared about 195,000 years ago Migration was influenced by Ice Age Bering Strait was exposed and Humans likely walked across to North America
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Pleistocene Epochs Several periods of glaciations Animals had special characteristics that allowed them to endure the cold Other animals moved to warmer regions Less-adaptable species became extinct Fossils of early ancestors of humans appear Hunters which led to extinction of many large mammals
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Holocene Epochs Includes present Began when last ice age ended As ice sheets melted, seas rose and coastlines took shape Great Lakes formed Modern humans developed agriculture and began to make tools
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In-Class Assignment/Homework 23.3 Cenozoic & Review WKT
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