Color-coded Continents!Scroll down to view reconstructions of continental motions from 620 million years ago through the present. Land masses are color-coded to make it easier to track the pieces of the continents as they move about. These reconstructions were developed by C. Scotese and the PALEOMAP Project at the University of Texas. To learn more about how geologists reconstruct past continental positions, click here. |
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The Earth today
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30 million years ago
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90 million years ago
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120 million years ago
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150 million years ago
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180 million years ago
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210 million years ago
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240 million years ago
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270 million years ago
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300 million years ago
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330 million years ago
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360 million years ago
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390 million years ago
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420 million years ago
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450 million years ago
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490 million years ago
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520 million years ago
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560 million years ago
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590 million years ago
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620 million years ago
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The Earth today
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Reconstructing ancient Earth
These remarkable figures are produced by C.R. Scotese and the PALEOMAP project. Geologists call these illustrations paleogeographic reconstructions, because they illustrate the reconstructed geography of our Earth at some time in the past.
Making a paleogeographic reconstruction begins by examining several lines of evidence including: paleomagnetism, magnetic anomalies, paleobiogeography, paleoclimatology, and geologic history. By combining all available evidence, geologists are able to construct paleogeographic maps, such as these, that interpret how the geography might have appeared at a specific location and time in the past. Paleogeographic maps are continually being refined as more evidence is collected.
To find out more about how paleogeographic reconstructions are made visit the PALEOMAP project site.
Learn more about plate tectonics
Scotese, C. R., 1997. Paleogeographic Atlas, PALEOMAP Progress Report 90-0497, Department of Geology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, 37 pp. |
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