The Age of The Dinosaurs - Mesozoic Era
The Triassic Period
The Triassic Period (about 248 - 208 million years ago) was the first
phase of the Mesozoic era (Age of the Middle Life), often called the Age
of Dinosaurs. The Earth was a huge super continent called Pangaea ("all
Earth"), of which the northern part was called Laurasia and the southern
part Gondwana.
The Jurassic Period
The Jurassic period (about 208 - 145 MYA) marked the middle of the Mesozoic
Era. By this time the supercontinent Pangaea was breaking up in earnest.
Africa began to split from South America, and India prepared to drift
toward Asia.
Climates were now warm world wide, and moist winds from invading seas brought rain to inland deserts. Plants spread into once barren lands, providing plentiful food for abundant and widespread dinosaurs.
The Cretaceous Period
The Cretaceous Period began 145 million years ago and lasted for 80 million
years. The Cretaceous Period follows on the Jurassic Period, and is the
youngest period of the Mesozoic Era. The Cretaceous Period defines the
boundary between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.