Plate Tectonics, 540Ma - Modern World - Scotese Animation 022116b

This animation shows the plate tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of the Earth back to 540 million years. It also shows the major ice ages at : 20,000 years, 300 years, and 445 million years.

This animation should be cited as:

[manesalinasrdz]

Dear Christopher, your recreation of the tectonic plates has made me extremely happy, I am a biologist and I teach biogeography in Querétaro Mexico and I am captivated by your research and in this video by the masterful way of doing it with the Danse macabre. I send you hugs and I thank you for sharing your findings in such a beautiful way.

[George_Thomas]

The music is unbearably cheerful
I can't imagine the work required to add the current borders and the smooth animation

[beatriceblocks]

This video was very helpful. My students loved seeing the gradual changes in the earth's landmasses and how they came together. It was also great that there was no one providing a narrative because I developed a lesson where my students were the narrators and they had to describe and explain what was happening. Awesome video!!

[daniell]

I've seen this animation floating around the internet and have been searching for the source for a little over a year now. So glad to have finally found the source!

[ElsieDreamWorld]

This is fantastic! The best plate tectonics animation I’ve ever seen. Settles my doubt about where the Chicxulub Asteroid Impact really was 65 million years ago, as I’ve always wondered its real position with the plates movements. Thank you so much for this!

[HeadsetHatGuy]

5:30-5:47
Music fits in perfectly as India moves towards Asia

[rounak_Geologist]

Beautiful! As a geology student this is the best animation I've seen so far!

[ralphcanonero]

wow india's collision with asia was devastating

[laural]

I have always been fascinated by the geological history of the earth since I was a child and every time I look at a landscape feature I can not help but imagine the forces of nature that have shaped it. When I walk in the mountains of the Italian Apennines during my hikes I can not help but think that the limestone on which I lay my feet once was the backdrop of an ancient sea and when I am in the Alps and observe the contortions of the rocky folds I am amazed to think about what incredible forces might have bent the earth's crust like that.
Our planet becomes even more beautiful when one imagines it in motion as if it were a living thing.
Many thanks for your awesome work.
T.

[mogivice]

Absolutely outstanding. I studied geology 40 years ago, and not only such CG techniques dind't exixst, but nobody even knew how the Earth could look like at so early stages... Mogi Vicentini (Italy)

[johnlester]

I would really like to see a Southern perspective.Australia, Antartica, New Zealand.Awesome work, much appreciated

[KreeFreee]

India: "IM GOING TO GET YOU-" _explodes and turns into a mountain_

[theswift]

Madgascar: no man i am tired...i'll rest in Africa

[wiederecovsky]

Mr. Scotese, thanks for the excellent video. I used it to illustrate to architecture students the colossal forces that shape the Earth's relief.

[deborahberrill]

Fabulous!! Beautifully done with the contemporary geopolitical maps underlying the movement: that makes these extremely helpful and accessible to novices as well as those in the field. Brilliant!

[armanke]

found your work referenced on recent PBS Eons video, great work.. thanks

[taffzickafoose]

It's funny that you just posted this (sort of) recently. Just today I
found some old Discover Magazines in my attic and randomly picked up the November
1982 issue where you were cited heavily in the cover story. You were
29 at the time. The story piqued my interest in how the theory had
evolved in the last 34 yrs, so I googled it and found that you're the
biggest authority on the subject. This is great. I noticed that at the beginning, the land masses are sort of meandering about until we reach the Silurian Period about 420 million years ago. Is that my imagination? If not, what drove the acceleration of change at that time?

[patrickbrumm]

I used to dig for quartz in Arkansas, and was told it all formed during mountain building 300, 000, 000 years ago. Now I see how & why! Thanks!

[charlesmartin]

Absolutely superb! Thanks for posting this. I love how the continents rotate as they move. Probably makes it a lot more complicated to figure out paleolatitudes.

[veggieboyultimate]

This really paints an accurate picture on how the continents have changed over time