Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after creta, the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period.
| Late/Upper Cretaceous | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chronology | |||||||||
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| Etymology | |||||||||
| Chronostratigraphic name | Upper Cretaceous | ||||||||
| Geochronological name | Late Cretaceous | ||||||||
| Name formality | Formal | ||||||||
| Usage information | |||||||||
| Celestial body | Earth | ||||||||
| Regional usage | Global (ICS) | ||||||||
| Time scale(s) used | ICS Time Scale | ||||||||
| Definition | |||||||||
| Chronological unit | Epoch | ||||||||
| Stratigraphic unit | Series | ||||||||
| Time span formality | Formal | ||||||||
| Lower boundary definition | FAD of the Planktonic Foraminifer Rotalipora globotruncanoides | ||||||||
| Lower boundary GSSP | Mont Risoux, Hautes-Alpes, France 44.3925°N 5.5119°E | ||||||||
| Lower GSSP ratified | 2002 | ||||||||
| Upper boundary definition | Iridium enriched layer associated with a major meteorite impact and subsequent K-Pg extinction event. | ||||||||
| Upper boundary GSSP | El Kef Section, El Kef, Tunisia 36.1537°N 8.6486°E | ||||||||
| Upper GSSP ratified | 1991 | ||||||||
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