What distinguishes the orbital periods of comets originating from the Oort Cloud versus the Kuiper Belt?

OC sources yield long-period comets (> 200 years); KB sources yield short-period comets (< 200 years).

The period of a comet's orbit directly correlates with its source region due to the inherent dynamics and formation location of those reservoirs. Comets sourced from the Kuiper Belt typically complete their circuit around the Sun in less than 200 years, classifying them as short-period comets, and they generally maintain orbits near the ecliptic plane. In contrast, comets originating from the Oort Cloud require significantly longer times to return, often taking more than 200 years, sometimes millions of years, to complete a single trip around the Sun; these are defined as long-period comets, which enter the inner solar system on highly inclined, eccentric orbits, providing the strongest indirect evidence for the existence of the distant cloud.