-
145
Cretaceous
Flowering plants proliferated. New dinosaurs came, along with sharks and primitive birds. About 65 million years ago, a mass extinction caused the dinosaurs to disappear. -
200
Jurassic
Conifers and ferns were common, dinosaurs were diverse. As the North American continent drifted, its trailing edge sank underwater, forming the Atlantic ocean. The Appalachians continued to erode, leaving flatland in eastern Piedmont. -
251
Triassic
Dinosaurs appeared and became dominant. Appalachian mountains began to erode, and the continents began to move apart again. -
416
Devonian
Plants took over, making an appearance of horsetails and ferns. First trees, wingless insects, and seed-bearing plants appeared. Fish were common, followed by amphibians. -
444
Silurian
First vascular plants appeared, with specialized tissues for conducting water and nutrients. North America, Europe, and Africa pushed together, and over the next 100 million years, the Appalacian Mountains started to form -
542
Cambrian
The "Cambrian Explosion" caused major dersertification of life. Many fossils survived, such as trilobites, worms, sponges, brachiopods, and other animals. -
Apr 1, 1000
Neo-proterozoic
Land under NC was pulled apart, inland seas emerged. Fossils began to form. -
Meso-proterozoic
The first mountains formed, called the Greenville -
Pleistocene
Large mammals flourished, then went extinct. Sand Hills formed, polar ice caps melted, the Ice Age began. The glaciers began to recede, and rising seas left a ridge above water, creating the barrier islands. Global warming began. -
Period: to
Appalachian Mountains Timeline
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Pliocene
Humans appear. Land surfaces of Blue Ridge and Piedmont now appear as they do today. Shallow sea covered the eastern half of the Coastal Plain, then receded again. -
Miocene
Mammal and birds become recognizable. Grasses spread, apes appear. The ocean retreated from the Coastal Plain, causing rapid erosion, leaving "Uwharrie Moutains" -
Eocene
First grasses appeared, an ice cap develops on Antarctica. The crust under the Coastal Plan began to sink, pushing the ocean to Piedmont. -
Paleocene
Mammals diversified, world's climate was tropical but begam tp cool. North Carolina went above sea level. -
Ordovician
Sea invertebrates diversified, green plants and fungi appeared on land. -
Carboniferous/Mississippian
Ferns and scale trees thrived in wetland forests, portions of Appalachian region where coal is mined was covered in forests -
Carboniferous/Pennsylcanian
Winged insects spread, first reptiles appeared. About 320 million years ago, the North American and Euro-African continents collided, resulting in the last period of Appalachian mountain building -
Permian
By 260 million years ago, the Appalachian mountains were complete, stretching 620 miled long. About 400 million years after this, 95% of life on Earth became extinct. -
Paleo-proterozoic
Oxygen-producing bacteria proliferated, atmosphere becomes oxygenic -
Archean
North America begins to form, rocks that survive show evidence of erosion, creating plate tectonics.