What Did the Continents Look Like Millions of Years Ago?

For those interested in learning more about geology, I highly recommend John McPhee&#x27;s <i>Annals of a Former World</i> [1]. It won a Pulitzer in 1999. Through a series of 5 books written between 1978 and 1998, McPhee weaves together the geological development of North America with highly detailed and beautifully written portraits of the geologists that study various sections of the continent. It touches on both basics of geology and highly detailed accounts of geological events in North America as they were understood at the time.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Former-World-John-McPhee/dp/0374518734" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Annals-Former-World-John-McPhee&#x2F;dp&#x2F;037...</a>

What I liked best about this article, besides the link to the site where the maps are displayed by their creator, was the detailed discussion of how we find out what the geography of North America was millions of years ago, and how radically different it was at times. It was also interesting to learn that petroleum exploration is one of the big interests of people who pay for the maps to be produced.

Even in 1500 years, the shape of some coastal areas has changed significantly. See for example the Low Countries in 500 CE and now.<p>Then: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frankish_Empire_481_to_814-en.svg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;File:Frankish_Empire_481_to_814...</a> (Look at the part labeled ‘Frisia’)<p>Now: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benelux_location_map.svg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;File:Benelux_location_map.svg</a>

Nice views of the Iapetus Ocean closing leading to mountain building (orogeny) and then the Atlantic opening up along a slightly different line taking parts that used to be attached to the other side of the Iapetus (e.g. Scotland) across to the Eastern side of the Atlantic.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iapetus_Ocean" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Iapetus_Ocean</a>

California was an island only a few hundred years ago, not millions.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:California_island_Vinckeboons5.jpg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;File:California_island_Vinckebo...</a><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_California" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Island_of_California</a><p>:)

You may have heard about one big supercontinent - Pangaea. Did you know there were probably earlier supercontinents ? Nuna, Rodinia, Proto-Laurasia, Proto-Gondwana.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#Formation" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Pangaea#Formation</a>

In the series that shows present day earth going backwards, why when the ice age is shown only the ice sheet at the North pole is enlarged? Shouldn&#x27;t the ice sheet at the South pole increase in size as well?

Google the expanding earth animation, it will blow your mind.