The Earth has changed.
When it first started out, this planet looked much differently than it does today.
Scientists estimate that the Earth is about 4.54 billion years old. They also state this “figure” with a margin of error of about 50 million years. This means it could be anywhere from 4.49 billion to 4.59 billion years old.
Anyway. How do they know? Well. There are a few ways scientists have determined this age. They have studied rocks on Earth, including some of the oldest rocks found in Canada and Australia. However, rocks are constantly being recycled through the rock cycle, which makes it difficult to get an accurate age.
To get around this, scientists have also looked at materials from outside Earth, such as moon rocks and meteorites. These materials are not affected by the rock cycle and can provide a more accurate estimate of the Earth’s age. By studying these materials, scientists have been able to determine that the Earth and the solar system formed around the same time, about 4.5 billion years ago.
Anyway. The Earth’s surface has changed its face in those billions of years. Think of it this way. The Earth’s crust is in a bunch of big pieces. Imagine Earth’s outer shell, the crust, is broken into giant, rigid slabs of rock called tectonic plates. These plates fit together like a puzzle, but not perfectly.
Next. Right below that big crusty puzzle lies what is called “the mantle.” The mantle is a hot, solid layer that can flow very slowly like thick syrup. To make matters worse, heat from Earth’s core drives makes “waves” or currents within the mantle.
These soupy currents move the tectonic plates above them. This continuous movement of plates over millions of years has caused continents to drift across the globe, collide, and even break apart.
So. What I’m getting at is this. The continents we see today were once part of larger land masses, and the process continues. The continents will keep shifting and reforming in the future, creating a whole new world map millions of years from now. We could be Russia. Not kidding.
At any rate, I found this coolio map. At the top left, you can put in any city name. At the top right, you can select a time period. Like, when did the first flowers appear? Or when did the dinosaurs go extinct? The map will then take you to that city and show you how the land masses looked at that time. It will also give you a year and a brief explanation of things.
So. Go on. Jump back in time. Take a walk on the wild side:
https://dinosaurpictures.org/ancient-earth#200
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You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall (primatologist)
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“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.” – Ernest Hemingway (author)
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“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” – Gary Snyder (poet and environmentalist)
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How thing looked where we are. Long, long ago.
