Introduction
The Mesozoic Era (251.9 to 66.0 million years ago) was the "Age of Reptiles." During the Mesozoic, Pangaea began separating into the modern continents, and the modern Rocky Mountains rose. Dinosaurs, crocodiles, and pterosaurs ruled the land and air. As climate changed and rapid plate tectonics resulted in shallow ocean basins, sea levels rose world-wide and seas expanded across the center of North America. Large marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, along with the coiled-shell ammonites, flourished in these seas. Common Mesozoic fossils include dinosaur bones and teeth, and diverse plant fossils.
Mesozoic Resources
The Mesozoic Era is further divided into three Periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous. A few examples of NPS resources in each time Period are highlighted below.
Mesozoic “Age of Reptiles” Coloring Pages
[Site Under Development]
Visit—Mesozoic Parks
Every park contains some slice of geologic time. Here we highlight a few parks associated with Mesozoic Era. This is not to say that a particular park has only rocks from the specified period. Rather, rocks in selected parks exemplify a certain event or preserve fossils or rocks from a certain geologic age.
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Arches National Park, Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Badlands National Park, South Dakota—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Big Bend National Park, Texas—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Canyonlands National Park, Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Capitol Reef National Park, Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Denali National Park, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado & Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona & Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Katmai National Park, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Lake Clark National Park, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Missouri National Recreational River, Nebraska and South Dakota—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Wupatki National Monument, Arizona—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
- Yosemite National Park, California—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]
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Zion National Park, Utah—[Geodiversity Atlas] [Park Home]