What Are Fossil Fuels?
Fossil fuels include gas, oil and coal and are given the name ‘fossil’ because they were formed from plants and animals that lived 330 million years ago in swaMps and oceans. The age they were formed is called the Carboniferous Period, which was part of the Palaeozoic Era.
Carboniferous gets its name from carbon, the basic element in coal and other fossil fuels. Generally, these deposits are from the Carboniferous Period. However, some coal formed during the time of the dinosaurs. For example, thin carbon layers can be found originating from the late Cretaceous Period (65 million years ago) – the time of Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Over time, the ancient plants and animals died and decomposed, while being squashed under the pressure from tons of rock and ancient seas that were above them.
Different types of fossil fuels were formed depending on:
- what combination of animal and plant debris was present.
- how long the material was buried.
- what conditions of temperature and pressure existed when they were decomposing.