Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago, Cenozoic Era) is the latestGeological age。With the extinction of dinosaurs,mesozoicThe end, the beginning of the new generation.The Cenozoic is divided into three periods:PaleogeneandNeogeneandthe quaternary period。There are seven generations in total:Paleocene、Eocene、the oligocene epoch、Miocene、pliocene、the pleistoceneandHolocene。The stratum formed during this period is calledCenozoic。In the Cenozoic, mammals andangiospermIt is characterized by a high degree of prosperity. Because the biological world has gradually taken on a modern look, it is called the Cenozoic era, that is, the era of modern biology.
The Cenozoic has a geological age of 65 million years of earth history.Is followingthe paleozoic era、mesozoicThe latest generation after that.Stratigraphic name formed in CenozoicCenozoic。In 1760, G. Arduino divided the rocks into three periods: the first period was crystalline rock;The second period is the stratified rocks containing fossils;Tertiary is semi cemented layered rock, often containing marine shells.In 1829, J. Denouaye studiedParis BasinThe loose sedimentary layer above the stratum is called.The first and second periods have been abandoned. The first period is roughly equivalent, and the second period is equivalent to the Paleozoic and Mesozoic.The Cenozoic includesPaleogene, Neogene and Quaternary, Paleogene is divided into Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene, Neogene is divided into Miocene and Pliocene;Quaternary is divided intothe pleistocene、Holocene。
Encyclopedia x ignorance: diagramming Jurassic
At the beginning of the Cenozoic, the distribution of land and sea on the earth was larger than that of modern times, and the distribution of ancient Eurasia was smaller than that of modern times;Ancient China and ancient India wereAncient MediterraneanSeparated by, ancient Turkey and ancient Persia are islands in the ancient Mediterranean, and these landmasses have not been connected with the ancient Eurasia;Crimson SeaNot yet formed, ancientthe arabian peninsulaIt is a corner of ancient Africa;Ancient South America and AncientNorth AmericaFar away, and ancient North America is close to the ancient Eurasia, sometimes connected.
the himalayas
Since the beginning of the Cenozoic era, various land blocks on the surface have been rising and falling, constantly splitting, slowly drifting, colliding and joining, and gradually forming today's sea land distribution.The combination of India and Asia occurred 50 million years agoEocene；the himalayasIt will take 2 million to 3 million years to rise. At the same time or earlier, Europe roseThe AlpsThe Rocky Mountains rise in America.
The climate of the Paleogene was colder than before, and there were small ice sheets in the Antarctic continent in the late Eocene and Oligocene. The ice sheets formed there in the middle Miocene were equivalent to 2/3 of the modern ones, and the northern hemisphere appeared in the early PleistoceneGreenlandIce sheet. There were many ice ages in the following 2 million years, and glaciers were seen on several continents.
Geological movement
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Tectonic stage
The Cenozoic includes the Tertiary and Quaternary.Formerly known as Mesozoic Jurassic to QuaternaryThe AlpsThe tectonic stage, and the Tertiary period is called the new Alpine tectonic stage.
1. The crustal development tends to be stable from activity, and the two geosynclines continue to develop toward the platform
The main aspects of the Cenozoic crustal development have changed from activity to obscurity, and the tectonic outline and paleogeomorphology have gradually approached the modern situation. From the perspective of the development of the active area, there are three distinct stages.
Crustal development
(1) In the early Tertiary, the two active areas have continued to operate since the Mesozoic.
fromEuropean AlpsSome regions,ApennineIn the mountainous and Himalayan areas, the crust is still active, which is shown as a trough across the east and west——Ancient Mediterranean(Tethys) geosyncline.
Circum Pacific geosyncline, close to MesozoicFold zoneThe outer side (on the Pacific side) is still sinking, in a very active geosyncline stage, and the obvious subsidence of adjacent continents (Western Europe, southern Russia, northern Africa, eastern North America) has caused global transgression. Therefore, the Paleogene transgression is the largest transgression since the Cenozoic era.
(2) Late Tertiary and late Tertiary due toHimalayan movementNew changes have taken place in the impact of.Strong ancient MediterraneanfoldBack, the mountains stretching from east to west replaced the sea in the past, extending eastward from Artes in North Africa, the Pyrenees, the Alps, and Kalbaqian in Europe toCaucasusThe Himalaya has become the youngest mountain system on the earth. At the end of the Tertiary, the Himalaya has been 5000 meters above the sea level.The remaining Mediterranean Sea and Southeast Asia are still sea troughs.
(3) The third stage, since the Quaternary after the Himalayan movement.The Himalayan region continues to rise, becoming the highest peak in the world,Qinghai Tibet PlateauIt is also uplifted due to the rise of Himalayas, and the southern belt is still active today.
The inner belt of the circum Pacific geosyncline is constantly uplifting,AndesAs it continues to rise, the northeast also rises one after another, and the active area has moved to the currentoceanic trenchThe Western Pacific Islands further developed and Taiwan emerged from dehydration.[1]
2. The development of the crust has changed from stable to active again - evolution toDiwaNew stage of development
Indosinian movementThe post crustal development has entered the initial stage of diwa movement,Yanshan movementThe activity continued to develop after the Himalayan movement, so the Cenozoic is the rejuvenation period of the crust.
(1) Large scale fault activity and fault block activity.Some of the fault activities are inherited from Mesozoic faults, while others are new.Fault block activity refers to a kind of fault combination activity where several groups of faults cut an area and make it rise or sink.If Lushan Mountain is uplifted by fault block activity,North China PlainFenhe RiverWeishui RiverThe basin subsides after fracture, the former is called fault upliftFault block mountain, the latter saidFaulted basin。These faults were active again after the Mesozoic era, showing strong activity.
(2) Large scale magmatic activity.With large-scale fault activityMagmatic activity, mainly eruption.for exampleDeccan PlateauBasalt, NortheastWudalianchi, Taiwan, Hainan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Yunnan and other places have had strong eruptions since the Cenozoic era.
(3) Caledonia andHaixiSome of the ancient fold belts in this stage have also reactivated since the Cenozoic era, showing strong uplift and fault subsidence, forming huge mountains and huge deep depression basins.
Therefore, the natural geographical landscape of large basins and huge mountains in western China and Central Asia is formed.Three mountains and two basins in Xinjiang, EuropeanRhine Graben This is an example.
climate change
1. The early Tertiary world climate has been clearly zoned. Sediments reflecting different climates appear in many places, alternating in time and space.
2. The late Tertiary climate zone is very similar to today's climate zone. The dry area of the Northern Hemisphere extends in the direction of South Sicily - NEE, and the westerlies have been formed.
3. Since the Quaternary, dry wet and cold warm alternate fluctuating climate, with ice age andInterglacial periodAnd the formation and development of the East Asian monsoon.
4. Under the special environment of dry and cold climate conditions in the ice ageQuaternary loessStacking.
5. Ice age and dry and cold climate also promoted the development of biology. At the end of the Tertiary Period and the beginning of the Quaternary Period, ancient humans appeared on the earth.
Modern structure and landform of China, Late PaleozoicHercynian movement After the Mesozoic Yanshan movement, the foundation was basically laid, and the Himalayan movement completed the current structural and geomorphic contour.
(1) Before the Himalayan movement in the Tertiary, the continental outline of China has basically formed, with mountains and rivers interlaced and basins alternatingGeographical landscape。Northwest ChinaForming large basins, such asTarim, Junggarqaidam Etc.In the eastern region, due to the compression of continental and oceanic crust, northeast southwest is generated;North North East South West mountain system.The uplift area is still rising, and the subsidence basin is still falling. The Tertiary sediments can reach a thickness of more than 5000 meters, such asDongting Basin。
(2) During the Himalayan movement at the end of the Tertiary, the Himalayan Trough rose to a mountain area of more than 5000 meters, and Taiwan also dehydrated.So far, the current landform outline of China has basically been created.At the same time, the Himalayan movement, accompanied by a large number ofVolcano eruption。
Volcano eruption
(3) After Himalayan movement, when the crust developed into the Quaternarytectonic movementThe performance is still very strong.
① Geomorphologically, the mountains rise and the basins sinkGeomorphic landscapeStrengthened.The Qinghai Tibet Plateau has leapt to the top of the world, and Mount Everest has become the highest peak in the world.According to some data, the Tibetan Plateau and the Yunnan Guizhou Plateau have risen by more than 1 to 2 kilometers since the Quaternary, and the Himalayas have risen by more than 3000 meters.
Basin decline, for example, the Quaternary decline of the North China Plain reached more than 1000 meters, and seven transgressions occurred in the most coastal areas.The Dongting Sag in China has also declined by more than 100 meters.Western PacificSouth China Sea Coral IslandThe thickness of the reef is more than 200 meters.
② Fracture movement associated with lifting movement.The Tibet Plateau is uplifted by the faults around it.Tianshan MountainQilian Mountains、Qinling MountainsSuch places become high mountains due to rising and falling, and valleys or lakes are formed due to relative decline between mountains.[2]
Time division
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Cenozoic era
The Cenozoic Era began about 67 million years ago and continues today.In the Cenozoic era, the face of the earth was gradually approaching the modern age, and the differentiation of vegetation zones was becoming increasingly obvious. Mammals, birds,Bony fishTogether with insects, they ruled the earth.The Cenozoic can be divided into Tertiary and Quaternary, and the Tertiary can be divided into Paleogene and Neogene.
Tertiary
Tertiary Period can be divided intoPaleocenePalaeocene Epoch, Eocene Epoch,the oligocene epoch(Oligocene Epoch)，Miocene(Miocene Epoch) andpliocene(pliocene Epoch)。Paleocene,EoceneTogether with the Oligocene, it is called the Paleogene, which lasted until 25 million years ago. At that time, the vegetation was mainly forests. There was a kind of huge predatory bird - Bufei bird on the earth, and the sea was characterized by huge foraminifera.Condylarthra , Aphropoda,Hornophora, Schizoodonta, Carnodonta and Qihoof, early species of thunder beast, ancient beast, running rhinoceros and amphibious rhinoceros, etc., and coke in the New WorldFauna, Heterotrochida and Semithera, etc.There are also many types of ancestors of existing mammals that can be traced back to this time, such as archaeopteryx, archaeopteryx, etc.The Neogene includes the Miocene and Pliocene, when the large foraminifera in the ocean were extinct,Hexapod coralLarge scale developmentCoral reef。On land, prairies began to appear, adapting to the new type of grass feedingHerbivoresIt began to flourish, and the face of the earth is closer to today.The Neogene has the largest number of animal species in history. At this time, various rhinoceroses and ancient elephants reached their peak. There are also various kinds of animals in the forestAncient ape。
the quaternary period
The Quaternary Period can be divided intoPleistocene（Pleistocene Epoch) and Holocene Epoch began about two or three million years ago, and the specific time is not determined, but now it is also the Quaternary.There are two major events in the Quaternary, one is the large-scale ice age, and the other is the emergence of human beings and modern animals.The Pleistocene is about to appear globallyGlaciationIt is also known as the "Ice Age". The ice age and interglacial age alternate constantly, corresponding to the alternation of cold and warm climate.Where there is no glacier, there is an alternation of wet and dry periods, which is called“Proluvial period”The Pleistocene epoch is also called "proluvial epoch".Amazon The vast tropical rainforest once shrank into an island during the drought.During the Pleistocene, animals and plants were greatly affected, and many of today's animal geography and plant geography phenomena originated herefaunaIt has been relatively stable,panda-The saber toothed elephant fauna lasted for a long time.For the last time, about 10000 years agoGlacial retreatAfter that, it entered the Holocene, or "post glacial", or "alluvial".At the beginning of the Holocene, mankind entered the period of agricultural civilization, and its influence on nature was expanding day by day. After entering the industrial civilization, it changed the face of the whole earth, which was caused by human activitiesExtinctionAnd the destruction of the ecosystem is more serious than ever before.
At the beginning of the Cenozoic Era, most of the reptiles that dominated the Mesozoic Era became extinct and prosperousGymnospermsThe rapid decline was replaced by the great development of mammals and the extreme prosperity of angiosperms.Therefore, the Cenozoic is calledMammalian AgeOr angiosperm age.The further evolution of mammals adapted to various ecological environments and differentiated into many categories.By the end of the Tertiary period, the highest animal, primitive human, appeared.Primitive humans originated in Asia or Africa.
mineral resources
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Cenozoic mineral resources mainly include gypsum salt, oil and gas and coal in the Tertiary red basin.For example, salt and gypsum in Hunan salt wellsUkrainesylvite.Iran's oil and gas are mainly produced in the Quaternary, Rocky Mountain coalfield in the United States, and part of them are produced in the Tertiary.Quaternary is mainly modernsalt lake(Northwest, Inner Mongolia and other salt lakes) andplacer, diamondPlacer gold、rutileIsoplacer deposit.Besides, there areGuano phosphate rockBed.[3]
