Historical Geology 102
Cenozoic Study Guide


After the "Cenozoic" lecture and readings you should be able to answer and discuss the following questions.

What are the modern Periods of the Cenozoic?

What are the Epochs of the Cenozoic?

What is the major tectonic event of western North America during the Cenozoic?

What was occurring to the Appalachians during the Cenozoic?

What are the four major areas of volcanism in western North America during the Cenozoic?

Describe the style of volcanism in the Colombia River Plateau and Snake River Plain.

What is the tectonic setting associated with the Cascade Range?

Where is the volcanism located in the Colorado Plateau region?

When does the uplifting of the Colorado Plateau occur?

Tectonically what is happening to North America in the Basin and Range province?

How did the San Andreas Fault form?

What kind of tectonic boundary is the San Andreas Fault?

What is an ice age?

At its height, how much estimated ice had accumulated during the last Ice Age?

When do these large glaciers first begin to form?

When was the main period of glaciation?

What defines the beginning of the Pleistocene?

What is a glacier?

How much ice accumulation is needed before a glacier will form?

How do glaciers move?

What is meant by glacial advance and glacial retreat? How is the ice moving in both cases?

What are the two major groups of glaciers?

Which kind of glaciers are found on Antarctica and Greenland?

How many glacial cycles are there bases on glacial evidence in North America? in Europe? in marine sediments?

What are the names of the four major glacial cycles in North America?

What are the causes of major ice ages?

Describe the Milankovitch Cycles?

How are these cycles related to ice ages?

What is albedo?

How does albedo relate to the ice ages?

What does continental location have to do with major ice ages?

How might the formation of the Himalaya Mountains have triggered the ice ages?

Have the Ice Ages ended?

What is an interglacial period?

Describe the tectonic activity of the Alpine Orogeny.

Describe the tectonic activity of the Himalayan Orogeny.

How fast is India moving today?