Latest Precambrian / Early Paleozoic Supercontinent Rodinia, centered about the south pole, breaks apart. North America (Laurentia), Baltica, and Siberia moved North. Marine Invertebrates. North America: arc on the south. Baltica and Siberia moved

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Latest Precambrian / Early PaleozoicSupercontine
nt Rodinia, centered about the south pole, breaks
apart. North America (Laurentia), Baltica, and
Siberia moved North. Marine Invertebrates.Nort
h America arc on the south. Baltica and Siberia
moved in from the SE. Texas (505-570 Ma) Flat
plain remnants of eroded collisional belt
(Llano). Shallow marine seas across much of
Texas. Sandy sediment onshore, limestone
offshore. Trilobites, brachiopods.
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Latest Precambrian / Early Paleozoic
Supercontinent Rodinia continues to break
apart. Pieces move north. Fish. Glaciation. Nor
th America Numerous plates and continental
blocks move in from the south and east. The
Taconic arc collides, forming the Taconic
orogeny. Texas 438-505 Ma Shallow marine seas
across much of inland Texas. Warm-water
limestone. Corals, brachiopods.
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Middle / Late Paleozoic Remains of Rodinia
(Gondwana) move northward to collide with
Laurasia -- creating the super continent Pangaea
and the Tethys Ocean. First land-plants.
Baltica collides with North America in the
Caledonian-Acadian orogeny. Texas 403-438 Ma
Shallow marine seas across much of west Texas -
limestone. Corals, brachiopods.
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Middle / Late Paleozoic Most drifting Rodinia
blocks assembled into the super continent of
Laurussia. Amphibians. Fish really get going.
Ferns. Glaciation. North America
Caledonian-Acadian orogeny marks assemblage of
Laurussia. Gondwana closed in from the south. An
arc formed along western North America. Texas
360-408 Ma shallow marine sandstones and
limestones in west Texas.
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Middle / Late Paleozoic Gondwana, with a large,
developing glacier, nears southern Laurussia.
Fern-forests. North America The Antler arc
collides with western North America creating the
Antler orogeny. Texas 320-360 Ma shallow
marine seas inland. Shales and limestones.
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Middle / Late Paleozoic Rodinia blocks of
Laurussia and Siberia collide to form
Laurasia. Reptiles. North America Gondwana
collides from the south. The resulting
Appalachian, Ouachita, Marathon, Ural, Variscan,
and Hercynian orogenies formed some of the
largest mountains of all time. The Ancestral
Rockies form. Texas 286-320 Ma Ouachita
Mountains. Collision formed inland basins filled
by seas. Limestone, sandstone, shale.
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Latest Paleozoic / Early Mesozoic The
supercontinent Pangeae dominates the Permian
Earth, lying across the equator. Extinctions!
Trilobites go away. North America A new arc
approaches western North America. A new spreading
center forms as Cimmeria rifts from Gondwana and
opens the Tethyian Ocean. The western fringe
of Pangaea lay along the eastern margin of the
Pacific "ring of fire subduction zone. Texas
245-286 Ma Shallow marine inland of mountains.
Reefs. Evaporites. Red shales.
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Latest Paleozoic / Early Mesozoic
Mammals. North America Arc collision along
western edge forms the Sonoman orogeny. As the
Tethys Ocean expands, Cimmeria (Turkey, Iran, and
Afghanistan) move northward towards
Laurasia. Texas 208-245 Ma shales and
sandstones in NW. Start opening the GOM - red
sandstone, shale, evaporites.
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Middle Mesozoic Pangaea rotates different
components at different rates / in different
directions -- rifts form. Birds. North
America Southern North Atlantic Ocean opens,
continuing west into the Gulf of Mexico. The
Cordilleran arc develops along Pacific
margin. Arc forms on western side. Nevadan
orogeny begins. Cimmeria begins collision with
Laurasia - Cimmerian orogeny. Texas 144-208 Ma
Change in sediment direction. Shallow water
deposition / evaporites in GOM.
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Middle Mesozoic The Atlantic continues to expand
as Pangaea breaks up. The Cimmerian orogeny
continues. North America Arcs and micro
continents slam into western region. Laramide
orogeny in Rockies. Texas 66-144 Ma Influx of
sediment from Rockies. Shallow Cretaceous sea way
across Texas. Shallow liestones, shales.
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Late Cretaceous / Present Rifts separate Africa
and South America and then India, Australia,
Antarctica. North America rifts from Europe.
Old Gondwana lands(Africa, India, Australia)
move north toward Eurasia, closing the Tethys
Ocean and forming the Alpine-Himalayan mountains.
The Atlantic lengthens / widens, the Sevier
orogeny continues, and the Caribbean arc forms.
Texas 65-144 Ma continuing shallow limestone
and shale deposition to the southeast (from
Rockies).
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Paleocene / Eocene Himalayan Orogeny. Alps and
Pyrenees form. The modern patterns of Planet
Earth appear. Atlantic continues to open.
Rocky Mountains grow. Texas 65 - 35 Ma shale
and sandstone in southeast region prograde
shoreline (from the Rockies). Volcanic activity
in Panhandle.
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Oligocene and Miocene Orogeny continues in the
Mediterranean region and India nears its junction
with southern Asia. Antarctica
isolated. Southwestern North America intercepts
the East Pacific Rise and a great extensional
event, the Basin and Range orogeny begins.
Texas 35-5 Ma continued sandstone/shale
deposition and progradation of shoreline (erosion
of Rockies)
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Present Note Best data set available.
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