# Dinosaur Extinction Question...

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaur-extinction-question/251809>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 23, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaur-extinction-question/251809 "2004-06-23T15:53:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![BytopianDream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9de0a6/32.png) [@BytopianDream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BytopianDream)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaur-extinction-question/251809/21 "2004-06-24T05:02:04Z")

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Thanks for all the answers, even though I am not the OP.  
This is absolutely fascinating and I appreciate all of your time, all of you, who have  
made the effort to make such excellent posts about the topic.

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**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaur-extinction-question/251809/22 "2004-06-24T07:03:32Z")

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> [@Not a Well Woman](#):
>
> Actually, wasn’t the original name "KrakatAO?

It was, and still is, Krakatau (the last bit rhymes with “cow”). It’s my understanding that the explosion was originally reported in english speaking newspapers as having occured in “Krakatowa” which eventually morphed into the modern “Krakatoa.”

We’ve got a long history of butchering foreign names, why should this one be any different? 😃

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**Author:** ![outside\_artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@outside\_artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outside_artist)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaur-extinction-question/251809/23 "2004-06-24T14:11:48Z")

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What are the “Deccan Traps” and the “Chicxulub impact”?

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**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\
**Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dinosaur-extinction-question/251809/24 "2004-06-24T14:56:57Z")

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“Deccan Traps” refers to an extensive lava deposit that covers a significant portion of western India. ([Here’s a map](http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/h3i42.htm) that shows the extent of the Deccan Traps marked in green.) It’s composed chiefly of a certain rock type, called a basalt, that was erupted in thick sheets rather than forming a volcano. IIRC, the term “traps” refers to the step-like appearance of the lava flows in cross-section. ([This page](http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/europe_west_asia/india/deccan.html) has a few photos of the lava flows.)

The Deccan Traps are notable because of the [huge volume of lava](http://www.fact-index.com/d/de/deccan_traps.html) that was erupted in a very short span of time (a few million years). The term “traps” sometimes applied to other large flood basalt deposits, such as the Siberian traps, although the generic term is large igneous province (LIP).

“Chicxulub impact” refers to the crater on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico formed by the meteorite/comet impact 65 million years ago. The name Chicxulub (pronounced CHICK-shoo-loob) is named after the town where the first exploratory drill hole looking for evidence of the impact was placed.

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