Deck 14: Mesozoic Earth History

Question 1

During the Jurassic and Cretaceous, the Appalachian range was eroded into a low-lying erosional surface.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Ocean circulation became more complex during the Mesozoic Era.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

During the Mesozoic, the Appalachian Mountain Range was uplifted because of collision of North America with the Pacific Ocean Plate.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Mountain building in western North America did not begin until the Late Cretaceous Period.

Question 5

Oceans absorb more of the solar radiation that they receive than do continents.

Question 6

Salt domes commonly are associated with petroleum deposits.

Question 7

The Palisades sill is a Cretaceous age basaltic intrusion associated with compressional mountain building.

Question 8

The use of magnetic anomalies in the seafloor allows scientists to document the movement of the continents in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

Question 9

The rudists that made up many of the organic reefs during the Cretaceous Period are a variety of coral.

Question 10

Most information about the breakup of Pangaea comes from studies of magnetic anomalies in seafloor rocks.

Question 11

Sediments of the eastern continental shelf are derived from erosion of the Appalachian Mountains.

Question 12

Sea levels were higher in the Mesozoic than they are today.

Question 13

During the Mesozoic, the east coast of North America became a passive margin.

Question 14

Evaporites formed in the rift zones between continents as Pangaea broke apart.

Question 15

The Sonoma orogeny was the result of suturing of a volcanic island arc system onto the west coast of North America.

Question 16

The Franciscan Complex is mostly composed of materials that were deposited in a continental setting.

Question 17

Pangaea broke apart during the Triassic period.

Question 18

After the separation of North America and Africa in the Mesozoic, the Appalachian region experienced block faulting and igneous activity.

Question 19

The Cretaceous Interior Seaway is another name for the Sundance Sea.

Question 20

The Morrison Formation contains one of the richest assemblages of mammal fossils.

Question 21

Mountain-building activity in the present-day Rocky Mountains occurred during which phase of the Cordilleran orogeny?

A) Sonoma orogeny
B) Laramide orogeny
C) Nevadan orogeny
D) Sevier orogeny
E) Franciscan orogeny

Question 22

Sea levels rose during the Cretaceous in response to ____.

A) high sea level during interglacial times
B) accelerated rifting caused by higher heat flows
C) subsidence of landmasses
D) a mass extinction
E) global cooling

Question 23

Triassic sedimentation in western North America consisted of ____.

A) marine and nonmarine sedimentation
B) only marine sedimentation
C) only nonmarine sedimentation
D) evaporites
E) volcanic rocks

Question 24

The granite plutons of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California formed because ____.

A) a continental-continental collision caused melting of the North American plate.
B) subduction of an oceanic plate beneath the North American continent produced granitic magmas that cooled deeper in the crust.
C) the San Andreas strike-slip fault caused melting of the North American plate.
D) there was no plate boundary near western North America.
E) volcanoes spewed forth huge amounts of granite.

Question 25

Cordilleran orogenic activity is a result of a continental-continental collision between the Farallon and North American plates.

Question 26

During the Mesozoic, North America was moving ____.

A) westward
B) southeast
C) northeast
D) southwest
E) not at all

Question 27

The primary resource located in the Persian Gulf is ____.

A) iron
B) diamonds
C) oil
D) coal
E) gold

Question 28

The Chinle Formation is noted for its large cross-beds of Jurassic sandstone.

Question 29

Most of the world's diamond resources formed under conditions of high heat and pressure.

Question 30

The breakup of Pangaea began with ____.

A) subduction of Laurasia under Gondwana
B) rifting between Laurasia and Gondwana
C) the Sonoma orogeny
D) the transgression of the Sundance Sea
E) the regression of the Sundance Sea

Question 31

The three phases of the Cordilleran orogeny are, from oldest to youngest, ____.

A) Laramide, Sevier, and Nevadan
B) Sevier, Laramide, and Nevadan
C) Sonoma , Sevier, and Laramide
D) Nevadan, Sevier, and Laramide
E) Sevier, Nevadan, and Laramide

Question 32

The separation of North America and Africa resulted in the formation of _____ along the eastern coast.

A) Carolina bays
B) rift basins
C) mountain ranges
D) linear striations
E) trench zones

Question 33

What would cause ocean circulation to slow down?

A) a continental orogeny
B) warmer tropical regions and colder polar regions
C) cold tropical regions and warm polar regions
D) increased underwater volcanism
E) equal temperatures at the poles and equator

Question 34

What formation was created from sediments derived from uplifting mountains that were deposited into the retreating Sundance Sea and is famous for dinosaur remains?

A) Morrison Formation
B) Sundance Formation
C) Navajo Sandstone
D) Franciscan Formation
E) Kayenta Formation

Question 35

The Gulf of Mexico began to form as North America separated from ____.

A) Gondwana
B) Laurasia
C) Australia
D) South America
E) Antarctica

Question 36

The interior of western North American continent was flooded by the Middle Jurassic ____.

A) Navajo Sea
B) Moenkopi Sea
C) Morrison Sea
D) Sundance Sea
E) Interior Seaway

Question 37

The mountain building events of the west coast that began in the Jurassic and continued into the Cenozoic are collectively called the ____.

A) Sonoma orogeny
B) Antler orogeny
C) Cordilleran orogeny
D) Rocky Mountain orogeny
E) Alleghenian orogeny

Question 38

What conditions are favorable for evaporite formation?

A) high heat, moist environment
B) low temperatures, low evaporation
C) low temperature, low pressure
D) high temperatures, high evaporation
E) low temperature, moist atmosphere

Question 39

Most terranes are composed of metamorphosed continental sediments.

Question 40

The three time periods of the Mesozoic, from oldest to youngest, are Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Triassic.

Question 41

____________________ bivalves dominated Cretaceous reefs of the Gulf Coastal region.

Question 42

Deposits of sand and gravel that contain gold particles large enough to be recovered by panning are called ____.

A) the mother lode
B) strikes
C) placer deposits
D) prospective deposits
E) gold domes

Question 43

How do active and passive continental margins differ in terrane tectonics?

A) Passive margins may be underlain by granite.
B) Active margins may be underlain by granite.
C) Active margins grow faster.
D) Passive margins grow faster.
E) Active margins have a more diverse fauna.

Question 44

After the breakup of Pangaea, the Panthalassa Ocean became the ____________________ _________________________.

Question 45

The _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ effectively divided North America into two large landmasses.

Question 46

After the Gulf of Mexico began to form in the Late Triassic, the shallow restricted basin became the site of extensive ____________________ deposition.

Question 47

What caused the Nevadan, Sevier, and Laramide orogenies?

A) a change from a high subduction angle to a low subduction angle
B) continental-continental collision
C) a change from a low subduction angle to a high subduction angle
D) glacial rebound
E) emplacement of granitic batholiths

Question 48

Present-day tectonics in the Pacific Ocean began with ____.

A) the Antler orogeny
B) subduction of the North American plate beneath the Farallon plate
C) the Sonoma orogeny
D) subduction of the Farallon plate beneath North American plate
E) the separation of North America from Baltica

Question 49

Metallic ore deposits are most likely to form when ____.

A) small-scale motions of hot spots alter cratonic rocks
B) continents rift apart.
C) plants decompose in anaerobic conditions
D) plants decompose in aerobic conditions
E) metals are precipitated from and concentrated by cooling magma

Question 50

Following the breakup of Pangaea, the eastern coast of North America experienced ____.

A) isostatic rebound of the Appalachian mountains
B) the regression of the Tethys Sea
C) the formation of fault-block basins and igneous intrusions
D) the transgression of Sundance Sea
E) massive landslides and slumping

Question 51

Lithospheric blocks called ____________________ are recognizable by having characteristics that are very different from those of surrounding rocks.

Question 52

During the Cretaceous, increased rifting of Pangaea resulted in a(n) ____________________ of the seas.

Question 53

While out in the western United States on a field trip, you collect some beautiful specimens of petrified wood. You are probably collecting petrified wood in which Triassic formation?

A) Chinle
B) Morrison
C) Navajo
D) Sundance
E) Wingate

Question 54

By the ____________________, evaporite deposition had ended in the Gulf Coast region of North America and normal marine sedimentation had begun.

Question 55

During the Late Mesozoic, a body of water called the ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean.

Question 56

During the Triassic, the climate of the low and middle latitudes was ____.

A) tropical
B) temperate
C) cold desert
D) arid
E) arctic

Question 57

Which resource would most likely be formed in a humid environment?

A) evaporites
B) red beds
C) sand deposits
D) coal
E) diamonds

Question 58

How does petrified wood form?

A) permineralization - silica rich waters percolates and silicifies the wood
B) aeration - the wood dries out and is then buried
C) decomposition - bacteria break down the wood and replace them with organic compounds
D) decomposition - bacteria break down the wood and replace it with inorganic compounds
E) tectonism - wood is rapidly buried and subsequently uplifted

Question 59

Conical igneous intrusions from which diamonds are mined are called ____________________ pipes.

Question 60

Huge masses of granite and other related rocks made up of multiple intrusive bodies are called ____________________.

Question 61

Describe and discuss the sea level changes with respect to the continents during the Cretaceous Period. What caused this event?

Question 62

Discuss the major global plate tectonic events of the Mesozoic Era.

Question 63

What effects did the breakup of Pangaea have on global climates and ocean circulation patterns?

Question 64

During the Mesozoic Era, where did most of the orogenic activity occur on the North American continent?

Question 65

Discuss the order of events that occurred during the breakup of Pangaea.

Question 66

Discuss the mineral deposits that were formed during the Mesozoic Period.

Question 67

Compare and contrast sedimentation in the Sundance Sea and the Cretaceous Interior Seaway in the Mesozoic.

Question 68

What are four clues that can help geologists recognize a terrane?

Question 69

The Cordilleran orogeny applies to four episodes of Mesozoic mountain building. What was the tectonic setting for the Cordilleran orogeny? List the individual episodes, in order from oldest to youngest, and briefly describe where and how they occurred.

Question 70

Discuss the role that accretion of terranes played in the development of North America.