The last 65 million years are called the Cenozoic--"Recent life."
FOSSILS
During this period, many types of mammals appear in the fossil record for the first time. The first whales and horses are found in early Cenozoic (Eocene) rocks. Fossils of many kinds of flowering plants are numerous.
GEODYNAMICS
Mountains form in western North America as the Rockies are uplifted throughout the Cenozoic. The Alps and the Himalayas also form. During the Miocene flood lavas erupt in western North America, forming the Columbia plateau.
CLIMATE
During the Eocene, coal forms. About 2 million years ago, a succession of Ice Ages begins.
A saber toothed CAT, one of the large mammals of the Pleistocene (Ice Age).
By permission of Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas.