The Cretaceous in North Carolina, US

Paleontology and geology

During the Cretaceous, the Atlantic Ocean continued to widen, and from time to time the sea encroached on the land. Streams carried sediments from the eroding Appalachian Mountains and deposited them in a broad coastal plain. Oysters and other molluscs flourished in the warm waters where sands, muds, and limy muds were being deposited, while dinosaurs roamed the shoreline. This map indicates the presence of Cretaceous rocks in the central portion of the state.