The Quaternary in Northwest region, Mexico

Paleontology and geology

In the Quaternary, the continental and oceanic plates continued to slide past each other in the western part of this region. As a result, Northwestern Mexico experienced volcanic eruptions, and the Baja California peninsula moved farther from the mainland. As sea level rose and fell during this period, wave-cut terraces developed along the coasts, and these deposits contain fossils of marine bivalves, gastropods, echinoderms, and corals. The land was covered in forests, marshes, and savannas, as well as extensive lakes that formed when lava blocked the flow of water to the sea. These habitats were home to a mix of animals from the north and south, including crocodilians, lizards, snakes, amphibians, turtles, capybaras, giant armadillos, glyptodonts, mammoths, bison, camels, deer, rodents, and many birds. The lakes were filled with freshwater gastropods, bivalves, and ostracods. By the end of the period, desert conditions prevailed, and the region took on its current character.

Links to more on the Quaternary in Northwest region

Organizations

Colleges and Universities (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Northern Arizona State's MS degree in Environmental Sciences & Policy with an emphasis in Paleoenvironmental Sciences: Paleoenvironmental scientists investigate the recent geological past to learn about natural and human-caused environmental and climatic changes. In this interdisciplinary curricular track, you’ll develop broad competence in earth and environmental sciences, while specializing in an analytical technique used to reconstruct long-term environmental variability.

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