Prince Creek Formation

Prince Creek as it appears in the sixth segment of Ice Worlds

### Temporal Range

* 81 - 72 million years ago, Campanian - Maastrichtian Stage, Late Cretaceous Period (Coleville River Bluff)
* 72 - 71 million years ago, Maastrichtian Stage, Late Cretaceous Period (Kogosukruk Tongue)
* 71 - 69 million years ago, Maastrichtian Stage, Late Cretaceous Period (Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry)
* 66 - 48 million years ago, Maastrichtian - Ypresian Stage, Late Cretaceous - Early Paleocene Period (Ocean Point)

### Episodes

* Ice Worlds (Segments 1, 2, and 6)
* North America (Segment 5)

### Filmed In

Meagher County, Montana, USA (North America, Segment 5)

## Characteristics

### Temperature

* 5 - 6 degrees Celsius (41 - 43 degrees Fahrenheit) (average)
* 2 - 4 degrees Celsius (36 - 39 degrees Fahrenheit) (winter)
* 10 - 12 degrees Celsius (50 - 54 degrees Fahrenheit) (summer)

### Environment

Alluvial, Coastal, Woodland

Annual rainfall of 500 - 1500 millimeters (20 - 59 inches)

***“ In the coldest months, the far north of the Arctic can freeze into a spectacular winter wonderland. Not all dinosaurs choose to leave, or to seek shelter. The largest have the strength to tough it out. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Ice Worlds*
The ***Prince Creek Formation*** is a geological formation in Alaska, USA. Prehistoric Planet focuses on the Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry of this formation, which is approximately 71 - 69 million years old.

## Description

***“ Here, within the Arctic Circle, for three months of the year, the sun barely rises. When its warmth finally returns after the long winter, feathered Ornithomimus are quick to take advantage. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
Today, the Earth is in what is known as an icehouse state. Continental glaciers are present, made apparent by ice sheet on both the northern and southern poles of the planet. But for 85% of its history including Late Cretaceous Period, Earth was undergoing a greenhouse phase. The poles were not capped in ice (at least, not as significantly as it would be during an icehouse phase), carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other greenhouse gases reached high levels, and sea surface temperature ranged from 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit) by tropical regions, though the poles were still cold, around 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).

***“ If her babies are to thrive, she will have to repeat today's success over and over again, until her young are old enough to join her in the hunt, and, eventually fend for themselves, here in this remote - and perhaps the most challenging - frontier of the North American continent, 66 million years ago. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
Based on the alluvial rocks present, Alaska was a muddy coastal plain during the Late Cretaceous Period. Algae, angiosperms, ferns, herbs, moss, shrubs, trees, and other various leafy plants formed the flora of the area, which, as indicated by gypsum and pyrite, bordered a large body of water. Most of the area was dominated by polar woodland lacking ground ice. On average, the area had a mean temperature of 5 - 6 degrees Celsius (41 - 43 degrees Fahrenheit), with this going up to a slightly higher 10 - 12 degrees Celsius (50 - 54 degrees Fahrenheit) during the summer months. However, despite the warmer temperatures back then, given the formation's latitude of 80 - 85 degrees North, hence, the inhabitants would have experienced 120 days of winter darkness, enduring mean temperatures of 2 - 4 degrees Celsius (36 - 39 degrees Fahrenheit). The amount of rainfall would have ranged around 500 - 1500 millimeters (20 - 59 inches) per year.

## Appearances

The Prince Creek Formation serves as the setting of the first, second, fourth, and sixth segments of Ice Worlds as well as the fifth and final segment of North America.

## Fauna

Alaskan Troodontid*Cimolodon nitidus**Dromaeosaurus albertensis**Edmontosaurus sp.**Nanuqsaurus hoglundi**Ornithomimus edmontonicus**Pachyrhinosaurus perotum*
## References

1. ↑ Stratigraphy and Facies of Cretaceous Schrader Bluff and Prince Creek Formations in Colville River Bluffs, North Slope, Alaska
2. ↑ The First Pachycephalosaurine (Dinosauria) from the Paleo-Arctic of Alaska and its Paleogeographic Implications
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 A Diminutive New Tyrannosaur from the Top of the World
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 A new species of the centrosaurine ceratopsid *Pachyrhinosaurus* from the North Slope (Prince Creek Formation: Maastrichtian) of Alaska
5. ↑ Early Tertiary marine fossils from northern Alaska: Implications for Arctic Ocean paleogeography and faunal evolution
6. ↑ I Know Dino: The Big Dinosaur Podcast, Episode 447: Dinosaurs in North America: Featuring Prehistoric Planet 2
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Anatomy, Evolution, and Paleoenvironmental Interpretation of an Ancient Arctic Coastal Plain: Integrated Paleopedology and Palynology from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Prince Creek Formation, North Slope, Alaska, USA
8. ↑ Understanding Earth's Deep Past
9. ↑ Oceanic and atmospheric response to climate change over varying geologic timescales
10. ↑ Nesting at extreme polar latitudes by non-avian dinosaurs