Cretaceous sediments are almost completely absent in Kentucky; only small areas of Cretaceous deposits occur in and near the Jackson Purchase Region in extreme western Kentucky. During most of the Cretaceous, Kentucky was land. If Cretaceous sediments covered any of this land, they have since been eroded away. However, during latest Cretaceous times, sea level rise coupled with subsidence in the Jackson Purchase Region led to deposition of coastal sediments in environments that included coastal plain, river, delta, and shallow sea. Because of the limited outcrops in the flat Jackson Purchase Region, very little in the way of fossils have been found in the Cretaceous sediments there. The most common fossils are coalified tree limbs. The potential exists for dinosaur fossils to be found in these sediments in Kentucky. Much more new research needs to be done on the Cretaceous in this region.

 

 

 

 

 

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Last Modified on 2023-01-05
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