I know the whole idea of continental drift but I’m confused on how we know what past continents look like. I’ve seen so many YouTube videos of Time-lapses of what the continents were like in a span of hundred of millions of years. But they’re always incredibly detailed and it had me wondering how we know all this. I heard people say we can get an estimate what the continents were shaped like based on what directions their moving today. But that method can only take you so far right? Are all those maps of Pangea just guesses?
In: 24
The incredibly detailed maps are always artists impressions.
BUT!
They can be well founded artists impressions (when supported by research). Geology can tell us a lot. The most important part is that geological formations around the world can be connected like a jigsaw through various identifying features (specific rocks, fossils, mountain ranges etc.).
Furthermore, a lot of them can tell us what conditions they formed in. Were they the bed of a shallow sea, a desert, a swamp, a forest etc. Was it hot or cold. Sometimes, with enough data (like magnetic orientations or ancient magma hotspots) they can even be pinpointed to a latitude.
So you can start drawing rough maps of what was land, what was sea, where they were located, what the average climate was. Then you get an artist to fill in the gaps.
Latest Answers