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Mesozoic

© 1985 by Andrew J. Morris

The Mesocoic era is best known as the "Age of Dinosaurs." It lasted from about 70 million years ago to 225 million years ago. For the early part of this time Colorado remained a desert. Elsewhere on the planet the little lizards of the late Paleozoic were evolving into larger and larger forms -- the dinosaurs. By the mid-Mesozoic era the Colorado area began to become cooler and moister. As the climate become more favorable plantlife increased in the area, and dinosaurs and smaller lizards were common. Dense vegetation covered swampy areas. Many of our oil and coal deposits date from this era, as do the famous dinosaur fossils found in the Dinosaur National Monument in northwestern Colorado.

Toward the end of the Mesozoic era, Colorado was once again submerged beneath a shallow sea. This sea gradually receded eastward, leaving low swampy areas in its wake where dinosaurs thrived on the dense plantlife. Once again our Larimer County area underwent transition, from desert, to sea, to swampy shoreline, to low lying plain.

Visit our Genealogy section to find Larimer County ancestors, or see our Employment department to find a job!