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Cretaceous Period Facts for Kids

Cretaceous Period Facts for Kids

  • Geological Period: Cretaceous
  • Geological Era: Mesozoic
  • Geological Eon: Phanerozoic
  • Geological Timespan: 79.1 Million Years
  • Geological Epochs: Early and Late
  • Started With: End of the Late Jurassic Period
  • Ended With: Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) Extinction Event

17 Cretaceous Period Facts For Kids

  1. The Cretaceous Period is a geological period during the Mesozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon.
  2. The Cretaceous Period was the third of three geological periods during the Mesozoic Era.
  3. The Cretaceous Period was the longest geological period of the Mesozoic Era.
  4. The Cretaceous Period last for about 79.1 million years between 145 and 66 million years ago.
  5. The Cretaceous Period started with no formal event but ended with the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) Extinction Event.
  6. The Cretaceous Period started at the end of the Late Jurassic Period.
  7. The Cretaceous Period ended with the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) Extinction Event.
  8. The Cretaceous Period is divided into two different epochs.
  9. The two epochs of the Cretaceous Period are the Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous, but they are sometimes referred to as the Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous.
  10. The longest epoch during the Cretaceous Period was the Early Cretaceous.
  11. The shortest epoch during the Cretaceous Period was the Late Cretaceous.
  12. Belgian geologist Jean d'Omalius d'Hallo came up with the name Cretaceous in an 1822 published book.
  13. During the Cretaceous Period some of the largest carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs that ever lived started to appear.
  14. The Cretaceous Period ended with the extinction of all the dinosaurs and paved way for mammals and humans.
  15. The extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period was caused by a 6-to 9-mile-wide asteroid that impacted Earth.
  16. Two of the most famous and easy recognizable dinosaurs lived during the Cretaceous Period, the Tyrannosaurus rex and the Triceratops.
  17. A few dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous Period are the Albertosaurus, Gallimimus, Carnotaurus, and the Velociraptor.

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Cretaceous Period Pictures

There is a saying that claims a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is true then the below images will help you with your research on the Triassic Period. Below you will find three pictures of dinosaurs that lived during the Triassic Period. These pictures should give you a bettering understanding of what dinosaurs lived during this geological period.

A Suchomimus From The Early Cretaceous Period

A picture of a Suchomimus from the Early Cretaceous Period.

A Triceratops From The Late Cretaceous Period

A picture of a Triceratops from the Late Cretaceous Period.

Asteroid Ending The Cretaceous Period

A picture of an asteroid ending the Cretaceous Period.

Cretaceous Period Resources

We hope the above Triassic Period facts, information, data, and images were helpful in your research. You can continue your research on the Triassic Period using one of the below websites. We picked the below websites for the credibility, you can trust their information and data when it comes to the Triassic Period.