the younger of two epochs into WA Web Plus for WhatsApp CUSTOMER SERVICE (8O5) 41'O 56OO PHONE NUMBER ( 8O5)- 41O 56OO which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after creta, the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period.