Dinosaurs were the huge creatures that roamed on Earth’s surface 230 million years ago. But where did they disappear? How did we even come to know that there were such creatures that came and disappeared long before we existed. We know that dinosaurs existed because of the fossils they left behind.Hmm..Let me try and explain.
Fossils are imprints of prehistoric beings or things on rocks. Sometimes they are also tiny things that were trapped and preserved in ice or amber. Fossils are very important for us if we want to know what happened before us.
But how did the dinosaurs die? There are a few explanations to what might have happened:
- Asteroid hit Earth – Many scientists say that it might be because a huge asteroid hit earth in those days. An asteroid — 10 kilometers wide– struck just off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago. There is 150 km long crater off the Yucatan peninsula. So because of this impact dense dust clouds covered the earth’s surface for months chilling the Earth’s surface. When the clouds lifted the temperatures rose very high. These extreme climates caused 70% of the plant and animal life on the planet died.
- Volcanic Activity – Some say that the a lot of volcano eruptions caused them to vanish. Massive beds of ancient lava found around the world depict an Earth 65 to 70 million years ago where volcanic eruptions were very common. So some scientists believe that the volcanoes threw out so much gas, ash and dust that it blocked the sunlight from reaching Earth’s surface. Dinosaur and other organisms that could not tolerate this extreme cold just died.
So What exactly happened? You might find an answer this question your when you are older and if you choose to become a scientist.