North carolina county map

Evolution of NC

  • 145

    Mesozoic

    New types of dinosaurs evolved,Sharks started to appear in the sea. Primitive birds replaced pterosaurs. The coastal plain of North Carolina was buried under water and the southern land mass broke up.
  • 200

    Mesozoic

    North American conitent drifted northwest. the alatinc ocean formed between north america and africa
  • 416

    Paleozoic

    Plants took over the entire land. Horse tails and ferns evoloved. Seed baring plants evolved along with the first trees and first insects. Different fish started to appear.
  • 542

    Cambrien

    The most modern group of animals and plants appeared , including the ancestors of verdebrates. Trilobites, brachiopods, sponges, worms and other animals scattered. The eastern coast of north america ended up somewhere in the middle os Tennessee.
    Landmasses of North America and Europe/ Africa moved towards each other.
  • Feb 1, 1000

    Neo- Proterozoic

    Multi-cell animals started evolving in this period. The land under North Carolin a started to pull apart. The inland seas emerged.
  • Meso- Proterozoic

    The first mountains in North Carolina were finally formed. Rocks evolved underneath the Appalachian mountains were exposed in parts of the Peidmont and Coastal Plain regions.
  • Cenozoic

    Organisms started to evolve and so did plants. The ocean went and advanced toward the west as far as present day New Bern.
  • Pleozoic

    Reptiles were evolving faster than amphibians. 260 million years ago Appalachian mountains were completed. A mass extinction ended the permian period.
  • Paleozoic

    North American and European continents collided resulting in the last period of Appalachian Mountain building. The land under peidmont and coastal plain started to push upward.
  • Carboniferous

    Ferns scattered everywhere and trees called scale trees grew higher then 100 feet. Portions of the appalachian reigion were covered in forests. The first vertabrates evolved, sharks were begining to become common.
  • Paleo- Proterozoic

    The atmosphere started to become oxygen filled. The first complex single cell life forms emerged. The lan of North Carolina started to form.
  • Hadean

    The earth formed 4500 years ago, appearing to be a cloud of dust. Eventually it collapsed into the sun and in other bodies of our solar system. four thousand million years ago the earth had sable crust with oceans and primitive atmosphere. the first of life forms replecated RNA molecules and evolved four thousand million years ago.