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New Digital Map Allows You to Explore the Movement of Continents and See Where Your Address Would Be in Different Eras of the Earth’s Geological History.
Have you ever imagined where your house would be millions of years ago? Thanks to a new interactive tool, it is now possible to visualize the geographical evolution of the planet over 750 million years. The Ancient Earth map allows you to enter an address and track the transformations of the land throughout geological eras.
Created by Ian Webster, curator of the world’s largest digital dinosaur database, the map uses data from the PALEOMAP Project. This initiative tracks the evolution of the distribution of continents and oceans over 1.1 billion years.
How the Map Works
The Ancient Earth allows you to enter a specific address or select a wider region, such as a country or state. From there, the user can choose a date ranging from zero to 750 million years ago. There are 26 timeline options, with intervals between 15 and 150 million years.
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By navigating the map, it is possible to visualize the ancient positions of land and oceans, comparing them with current political boundaries. It is a fascinating way to understand how Earth has changed over geological eras.
During the Triassic period, for example, present-day Rio de Janeiro was located near Angola, Africa. This is because, at that time, the continents had not yet separated.
Interactive Features
The map offers different tools to customize the experience. The user can change the lighting, cloud cover, and rotation of the globe. It is also possible to access brief descriptions of each geological period on the screen.
Additionally, you can jump directly to historical events suchasthe emergence of the first multicellular organisms, about 600 million years ago, or the appearance of the first hominids, around 20 million years ago.
To switch between periods, simply use a dropdown menu or navigate with the keyboard arrows. This allows you to observe the changes in the arrangement of the continents over time.
Scientific Accuracy
Despite being impressive, the tool does not provide an exact depiction of geographical positions in the past. The creator himself, Ian Webster, warns that the tectonic plate models used in the map are approximate.
“Obviously, we will never be able to prove the exact correctness,” Webster explains. “But I chose this model because it is widely cited and covers the longest time period.”
Even so, the tool is based on consolidated research and provides a realistic representation of the evolution of the planet.
A New Way to See the History of the Earth
The Ancient Earth is an innovative tool for visualizing the dynamics of the planet over time. It allows anyone to explore geological history in a simple and interactive way.
Whether out of curiosity or academic interest, the tool opens up new possibilities for understanding how Earth has transformed up to the present day.
With information from smithsonianmag.
Acho que não funcionou comigo. Tentei Jerusalém, mas não apareceu nada.
Horrível
Meu amigo, vc poderia se familiarizar com o site. Não aparece p mim endereço. Só a cidade e a opção de zero anos atrás: aí aparece a cidade no mapa do Brasil…muito ruim. Para isso não preciso desse aplicativo…