home   Printer friendly version Add to site
Advanced search
Time & Space Fossil Gallery Famous Flora & Fauna
Careers Resources K-12 Collections PaleoPeople

The Carboniferous in Alabama, US

Carboniferous in Alabama map

undifferentiated rock units help

Choose a time period:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian

Carboniferous Fossils
Fossil photos from Carboniferous in Alabama

Previous (3 slides) Next
Search the fossil gallery

Paleontology and geology

During the Early Carboniferous (Mississippian), seas teeming with crinoids and brachiopods covered most of the state. Tectonic activity in the Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) caused Gondwana to collide with the southern edge of Laurentia, forming the supercontinent of Pangea. This resulted in a mountain-building event (Alleghenian Orogeny) and the formation of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Subsequent erosion of these mountains produced vast amounts of sediments that were swept into the sea, creating broad, coastal plains where forests of primitive trees and fern-like plants thrived. These forests are preserved today as the many coal seams and rocks rich with Coal Age fossils that are found throughout much of northern Alabama.

Links to more on the Carboniferous in Alabama

Careers | Organizations | Research and Collections | Resources

Careers

(showing 1 of 1 listings)

:

top Top of List

Organizations

Museums (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Alabama Museum of Natural History: Collections: Experience the natural diversity of Alabama through exhibits from the Age of Dinosaurs, the Coal Age, and the Ice Age. View the Alabama Museum of Natural History's extensive collections of geology, zoology, mineralogy, paleontology, ethnology, history, and photography. Located in historic Smith Hall on the University of Alabama campus, the Museum's mission is to broaden the knowledge of natural sciences and human culture through collections and quality programs of research, instruction, and service; many family-friendly events are offered.

top Top of List

Research and Collections

Researchers (showing 1 of 1 listings)

David T. King's Homepage: David King, Jr., a professor of geology at Auburn University, has assembled a web page detailing his work on Alabama geology. Topics covered here include meteor impacts in Alabama, Alabama dinosaurs, and the Paleozoic and Mesozoic geology of the state. Numerous scientific papers are posted here.

top Top of List

Resources

Image Collections (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Pennsylvanian Footprints in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama: This documents rare animal trackways and other trace fossils from the Carboniferous, collected from a surface coal mine in Walker County, Alabama.

top Top of List


Tennessee State Map
Georgia State Map
Florida State Map
Mississippi State Map