

What Did the Continents Look Like Millions of Years Ago? - mumbi
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/what-did-the-continents-look-like-millions-of-years-ago/279892/

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muerdeme
For those interested in learning more about geology, I highly recommend John
McPhee's _Annals of a Former World_ [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.

[1] [http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Former-World-John-
McPhee/dp/037...](http://www.amazon.com/Annals-Former-World-John-
McPhee/dp/0374518734)

~~~
mturmon
Thanks for that. I read and very much enjoyed the essays collected in _The
Control of Nature_ and never thought to look for more by the same author.

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tokenadult
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.

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Samuel_Michon
Even in 1500 years, the shape of some coastal areas has changed significantly.
See for example the Low Countries in 500 CE and now.

Then:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frankish_Empire_481_to_814...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frankish_Empire_481_to_814-en.svg)
(Look at the part labeled ‘Frisia’)

Now:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benelux_location_map.svg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benelux_location_map.svg)

~~~
mmanfrin
Also there was Doggerland[1] -- a huge connector between Britain and the
mainland.

[1][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggerland](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggerland)

(Incidentally, I found out about Doggerland from a genetic test that told me
my paternal line probably came from Doggerland).

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arethuza
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.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iapetus_Ocean](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iapetus_Ocean)

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tnuc
California was an island only a few hundred years ago, not millions.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:California_island_Vinckebo...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:California_island_Vinckeboons5.jpg)

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_California](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_California)

:)

~~~
radd9er
From the link: "The Island of California refers to a long-held European
misconception, dating from the 16th century, that California was not part of
mainland North America but rather a large island "

~~~
RustyBus
I believe tnuc's smiley face denoted sarcasm.

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b0rsuk
You may have heard about one big supercontinent - Pangaea. Did you know there
were probably earlier supercontinents ? Nuna, Rodinia, Proto-Laurasia, Proto-
Gondwana.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#Formation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#Formation)

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refurb
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't the
ice sheet at the South pole increase in size as well?

~~~
jswhitten
It does; you can see ice over the tip of South America. Note that the ice in
the southern hemisphere extends about as far from the pole as that in the
northern hemisphere. There's just a lot less ice in the southern hemisphere
because there's less land at those latitudes.

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

~~~
Samuel_Michon
That[1] was interesting, but apparently, the theory is not widely accepted as
fact.

“The scientific community finds that significant evidence contradicts the
Expanding Earth theory, and that evidence used in support of it is better
explained by plate tectonics” [2]

[1]
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kL7qDeI05U](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kL7qDeI05U)

[2]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expanding_Earth#Scientific_cons...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expanding_Earth#Scientific_consensus)

~~~
ffrryuu
Sure, but it makes far more sense than that pangea theory, kinda like ether
theory from back then.

The smaller earth -> lighter gravity -> larger insects are able to support
their huge body without skeleton, and larger living beings in general

In short it keeps on making more sense the more you think about it.

Plus the speculation of mass being generated in the core of the Earth is just
sexy.

