Images for Chapter 16 The End of the Dinosaurs

Images for The End of the Dinosaurs

There have been many bad theories to explain dinosaur extinctions. But the most recent work on the KT extinction has centered on two hypotheses that suggest a violent end to the Cretaceous: a large asteroid impact and a giant volcanic eruption.

An Asteroid or Cometary Impact?

Asteroids and Craters

An asteroid strikes the early Earth. NASA painting.
A bolide: an asteroid or a comet. Cartoon from USGS.
Meteor Crater, Arizona. UCAR photograph.
The Cenozoic Chesapeake crater. USGS image.
King crater, on the far side of the Moon. USGS image.
Clearwater craters, Canada. UCAR image.
The site of Chicxulub
Geophysical image of Chicxulub Crater
Painting of the K-T asteroid strike. NASA image.
One model of the K-T dust cloud. Figure 16.6.

A Giant Volcanic Eruption?

Geology of the K/T Boundary

Localities at the K-T boundary. Figure 16.3.
The K-T iridium spike in New Mexico. Figure 16.1.
Shocked quartz and spherule. USGS photos. Figure 16.2.
A fungal spike at the K-T boundary in New Zealand. Fungal spores from the K-T boundary, from Vajda, V. et al. 2001. Science
Rainforest in North America only 1.4 m.y. after the K-T extinction. Science News.

Page last updated October 24, 2004.

Links checked August 27, 2004.

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