Over millions of years Indiana was actually wet and warm (covered by warm seas), then warm and humid (no longer under water but very swampy), and then very cold (during the ice ages when several glaciers covered most of our state). seas, about 600 million years ago. The seas covered the land for millions of years.
How long ago was Indiana under water?
Students will understand that 400 million years ago when what is now Indiana was located near the equator, it was covered by a shallow sea.
Did Indiana have an ocean?
Did You know? Millions of years ago, Indiana was covered in a shallow sea. Many of the ancient sea creatures can be found in limestone. The CRINOID fossil looks like a flower, but is actually an animal.
Did Indiana have dinosaurs?
Although dinosaurs probably lived in Indiana during the Mesozoic, the absence of rocks from the time means that there are no dinosaur fossils in the state. Little is known about the Tertiary history of Indiana because there are so few rocks of this age in the state.
What dinosaurs would have lived in Indiana?
No dinosaur bones have ever been found in Indiana. At the end of the Mesozoic, 65 mya, there was another mass extinction, wiping out many species, including the dinosaurs.
Was Indiana once an ocean?
Indiana and much of North America had been covered by warm seas, about 600 million years ago. The seas covered the land for millions of years. Then the land was gradually uplifted and the seas drained away. After millions of years had passed, the seas covered the land again, and so the cycle continued.
How far south did glaciers go in Indiana?
It extended to the central part of Indiana, just south of Indianapolis, along a line from Terra Haute to Edinburgh, to Richmond. This last glacial advance began retreating about 20,000 years ago.
Did glaciers cover Indiana?
Thick sheets of ice (AKA glaciers)
Thousands of years ago (about 16,000), during the Great Ice Age, glaciers covered Indiana.
Why are there no dinosaurs in Indiana?
Massive glaciers came into the state and scraped, gouged and eroded layers upon layers of rock. The grinding action of these glaciers removed the evidence of entire geologic periods in Indiana. So the bad news—no dinosaurs in Indiana. We don’t even have Mesozoic rocks in the state.
Why is Lake Michigan so deep?
The lake’s formation began 1.2 billion years ago when two tectonic plates moving in opposite directions left a giant scar—an event now known as the Midcontinent Rift. Less than 15,000 years ago, melting glaciers filled the giant basin, and Lake Michigan came to be. The lake’s maximum depth is 925 feet.
What fossils have been found in Indiana?
Commonly-found fossils in Indiana include interesting specimens like crinoids, bryozoans, gastropods, brachiopods, bivalves, and trace fossils, which are the leftover imprints of things like footprints by dinosaurs and mammals of long-gone eras.
What state has most dinosaur fossils?
Humans’ fascination with dinosaurs goes back at least 2,000 years to Chinese writings describing what were thought to be massive dragon bones. In the 17th century, an English museum curator discovered a large thigh bone he posited was from a human giant.
Does Indiana have fossils?
Indiana fossils range from Upper Ordovician (approximately 450 million year old) to Upper Pennsylvanian (approximately290 million years old). There is a major interval without rocks and fossils in the state ranges from the Permian through the Tertiary period (285 to about 1.5 million years ago).
Did mammoths live in Indiana?
The remains of about 300 mammoths and mastodons have been found in Indiana. Unfortunately, these great animals became extinct about 10,000 years ago with a few isolated populations remaining around another 5,000 years.
Were there mastodons in Indiana?
“Mastodons have been found in nearly every county in Indiana. Mastodons roamed Indiana starting about two and a half million years ago, and they became extinct about 10,500 years ago. They’re the most common Ice Age fossil found in Indiana, and every time you dig a hole in your backyard, you might find one.
Where can I find fossils in Indiana?
Although fossils can be found anywhere across the Whitewater Valley, the vertical limestone cliffs of the Whitewater River Gorge, the Cardinal Greenway and Thistlethwaite Falls present rich hunting grounds (bonus — wading through the falls is a fun way to cool off on hot days).
Can you find Megalodon teeth in Indiana?
Did you know sharks lived in seawater that covered the Hoosier state more than 300 million years ago? Shark fossils and shark teeth have been found in rocks throughout Indiana counties!
Was Michigan once underwater?
About 5,500 years ago, the level of the water surface in Lake Michigan was about 23 feet higher than today. At that time, the southern shore of Lake Michigan was in the early stages of forming the last of Indiana’s shorelines—the Toleston Beach. In fact it is still in the process of making the Toleston Beach, today.
How old are the rocks in Indiana?
It’s a large, very unique geologic feature called Jug Rock. The town is so proud of this strange formation that the townspeople even adopted it as their high school mascot, lovingly naming it Roxer Boxer. Jug Rock is made of sandstone and is believed to be somewhere between 286 and 365 million years old.
How many times has Indiana been covered with ice sheets?
During the last million years, Indiana was covered by extensive continental ice sheets at least six different times, as evidenced by the sediments they left behind.
When was the last ice age in Indiana?
about 15,000 years ago
The Ice Age started over one million years ago and ended in Indiana about 15,000 years ago.