Jurassic Jurassic The Jurassic (; from Jura Mountains) was a geologic period and system that spanned 56 million years from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic Era, also known as the Age of Reptiles. The start of the period was marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event. Two other extinction events occurred during the period: the Pliensbachian-Toarcian extinction in the Early Jurassic, and the Tithonian event at the end; however, neither event ranks among the "Big Five" mass extinctions. The
Wallowa Mountains addition there are many older terranes between the batholith and basalt flows. The Wallowa Batholith is formed of granite from a magma upwelling in Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous time (between 160 million and 120 million years ago). The placement of this rock caused uplift of the surface, which at the time was tropical sea. This is evident from the slate, quartzite, and marble present in the mountains, which come from metamorphism of the sedimentary deposits of oceans during the Triassic. At the center of the Batholith are granodioritic rocks, while the outer limits of the range are tonalitic. The