If you have seen any of the “Jurassic Park” movies, you might wonder if there were ever dinosaurs in Georgia. Millions of years ago would Georgia have been a land of lush forests, or a desert? Did Georgia have lofty mountains or would it have been under the ocean?

If dinosaurs did live in Georgia, what happened to them? Did they freeze to death during an ancient Ice Age or did an exploding volcano or a giant meteor wipe out all dinosaurs on Earth?

A look back at Georgiaís geological past will shed light on these questions. Most scientists believe the Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago. Since then, the Earthís surface has been in slow but constant change. Over millions of years, new continents formed, only to split and move apart. Mountain ranges were created, only to be worn away by erosion.

About 225 million years ago, most of the exposed land on the Earthís surface formed a single land mass surrounded by ocean. Twenty-five million years later, the land mass split into two large continents. One of these contained what would become North America and Africa. This means that Georgia once was connected to Africa!

Gradually, the two large continents drifted away from each other, breaking up into smaller continents. One hundred-thirty million years ago, North America formed as a separate continentóthough it looked quite different then. Most of western North America was covered by a large inland sea. The ocean also covered much of Georgia.

Over millions of years, the earthís climate alternated between warmer and cooler periods. When the climate cooled, the water cycle produced more snow. In colder regions, the snow became part of glaciers and large sheets of ice covering land and polar oceans. As more snow and ice formed, less water flowed into the ocean. This caused the sea level to fall, exposing land previously covered by water. This is called an "Ice Age."

During one such Ice Age about 250 million years ago, the ocean level fell so much that portions of Georgia may have been a desert. Eventually, the Earthís climate began to warm, causing the sea level to rise. By 90 million years ago, the ocean was over 800 feet higher than today. All of Florida was underwater. At its highest level, the ocean covered over half of present-day Georgia. Today, we call Georgiaís ancient seashore the Fall Line. As the climate cooled, the ocean level slowly dropped.

For over 150 million years, dinosaurs roamed the Earthóincluding Georgia. Georgia did not have any of the huge creatures typically seen in the moviesósuch as Tyrannosaurus (T-Rex) and Triceratops. Also, Georgia did not have as many different types of dinosaurs as other parts of the country.

Not many dinosaurs could survive prehistoric Georgiaís harsh terrain. The Appalachian Mountains of North Georgia emerged before the age of dinosaurs. Over 200 million years ago, the Appalachians were much higherótaller than the Rocky Mountains today. Because of this, large dinosaurs would have had difficulty living in Georgiaís mountains. South Georgia was underwater during the dinosaur period. There was only a fairly small area of present-day Georgia in which dinosaurs could have lived. This would have been along and just north of the Fall Line.

No complete dinosaur skeleton has ever been found in Georgia. In fact, only a few fossilized dinosaur bones and teeth have been uncovered. Yet, a number of dinosaur remains have been found in Alabamaósome near the Georgia border. Based on the Alabama remains, scientists believe that the largest and most common dinosaur in Georgia would have been the Hadrosaur. This duck-billed reptile existed in Georgia 80 million years agoó the late Cretaceous Period. Other dinosaurs found in Georgia include the meat-eating Albertosaurus, a smaller cousin of Tyrannosaurus, and the bird-like Ornithomimus.

Georgiaís dinosaurs might not be the biggest dinosaurs, but they definitely were not small. The Hadrosaur was almost 50 feet in length and weighed almost 8,000 pounds. The Albertosaurus, which walked on its hind legs, was 28 feet in length and weighed about 4,000 pounds. Ornithomimus was approximately 13 feet in length and weighed almost 90 pounds.

What happened to Georgiaís dinosaurs? Many people mistakenly believe that dinosaurs perished during an Ice Age because they could not survive the cold weather. But this is not what happened. Toward the end of the Cretaceous Period, giant lava flows in India were releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere. These gases helped create a "greenhouse effect," which caused the dinosaursí environment to change.

The biggest catastrophe for the dinosaurs—at least those in Georgia—came from space. About 65 million years ago, a giant comet or asteroid entered the Earthís atmosphere and became a huge fireball. The comet hit about 1,000 miles southwest of Georgia on Mexicoís Yucatan Peninsula. The result was an unbelievable explosion ten thousand times greater than if all nuclear weapons in the world today exploded at one time. Upon impact, the comet created a crater almost 125 miles across. The Walt Disney movie "Dinosaur" dramatically shows what happened next. A wall of fire from the explosion started wildfires killing plants and animals for thousands of miles in all directions. The explosion also created a giant tidal wave.

When the comet exploded, Georgiaís dinosaurs saw a giant flash in the southern skies. Shortly afterwards, a wall of fire from the blast reached Georgia. Most large dinosaurs died instantly. The giant tidal wave hit Georgia shortly after, drowning most remaining animals between the seashore and mountains.

The comet blew so much dust into the air from the crater that the Earth was dark for months, and cloudy for a decade. The fallout made most fresh water undrinkable. Acid rain and other poisons also killed many animals living in the ocean such as fish and reptiles.

Despite the extinction of most dinosaurs around the world, various other animals—such as fish, birds, and smaller reptilesñsurvived. The extinction of dinosaurs marks the end of the Cretaceous Period. During the Tertiary Period that followed, a variety of new plants and animals appeared.

The final geological period, the Quarternary, marks Georgiaís history from 1.8 million years ago to today. During the Quaternary, the changing climates continue to cause the rise and fall of the ocean. About 18,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, the ocean level dropped once again. All of present-day Georgia was re-exposed and extended out over 60 miles from the present seashore.

Another area of land that was exposed in the last Ice Age was the ocean floor under the Bering Straits near Alaska. With the sea level down, the ocean floor became a land bridge connecting Asia and North America known as Beringia. Bands of nomads from Asia crossed Beringia into North America searching for food. In America the hunters discovered an abundance of large game animals—such as mammoths, mastodons, and giant sloths. These first bands of nomadic hunters from Asia are the ancestors of North Americaís Indians. They slowly made their way south—eventually reaching Georgia about 12,000 years ago.