Text Box: Pre Cambrian Era                 Formation of Earth & atmosphere; beginning of life Paleozoic Era                       Life explodes first in the oceans and then on land; nearly wiped out Mesozoic Era                      The age of dinosaurs Cenozoic Era                       The current era   Text Box: 65 million years ago Cretaceous Eon/Period Rise of flowering plants Period ended with KT Asteroid Impact Text Box: 145 million years ago Jurassic Eon Tremendous growth of the dinosaurs Text Box: 65 million years ago The Age of Reptiles ends with a massive meteorite strike in the Yucatan Text Box: 245 million years ago The Permian Extinction at the end of the Paleozoic Era starts this era Text Box: Mesozoic Era 245 - 65 million years ago Began with the Permian Extinction Ended with the Cretaceous Extinction 4% of the Earth's history