Deposition of the sediments that would become the Dakota Formation began during the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian). This deposition marked a reversal from over 100 million years of erosion (most of the Mesozoic). This reversal was due to rising of the mouth of the rivers, called a rise in base level, as the Cretaceous Seaway formed. This rise lowered the gradient of the rivers causing them to deposit sediment inland because their velocity could no longer sustain high volumes of sediment.