Palaeogeography

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Not to be confused with Palaeography, the study of ancient handwriting.

Paleogeographic reconstruction showing the Appalachian Basin area during the Middle Devonian period.[1]

Animation of the break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea and the subsequent drift of its constituents, from
the Early Triassic to recent (250 Ma to 0).

Palaeogeography (or paleogeography) is the study of historical geography, generally

physical landscapes. Palaeogeography can also include the study of human or cultural
environments. When the focus is specifically on the study of landforms, the term
paleogeomorphology is sometimes used instead.
Paleogeography yields information that is crucial to scientific understanding in a variety of contexts.
For example, paleogeographic analysis of sedimentary basins plays a key role in the field
of petroleum geology, because the ancient geomorphological environments of the Earth's surface
are preserved in the stratigraphic record. Paleogeographers also study the sedimentary
environment associated with fossils for clues to the evolutionary development of extinct species. And
paleogeographic evidence contributed to the development of continental drift theory, and continues
to inform current plate tectonic theories, yielding information about the shape and latitudinal location
 of supercontinents such as Pangaea and ancient oceans such as Panthalassa, thus enabling
the reconstruction of prehistoric continents and oceans.

Contents

 1See also
 2References
 3Further reading
 4External links

See also[edit]
 Paleoclimatology: Study of ancient climates.
 Paleoecology: Study of interactions between organisms and their environments across geologic
timescales.
 Paleontology: Study of ancient life, often involving fossils and pollen (palynology).
 Paleohydrology: Study of changes in hydrology over geological timescales.
 Paleosol
 Physical geography
 Plate tectonics: Behavior of plates covering the surface of the Earth.

References[edit]
1. ^ Blakey, Ron. "Paleogeography and Geologic Evolution of North America". Global Plate Tectonics
and Paleogeography. Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 2008-07-04.

Further reading[edit]
 Irving, Edward (February 8, 2005). "The Role of Latitude in Mobilism Debates". PNAS. 102 (6):
1821–
1828. Bibcode:2005PNAS..102.1821I. doi:10.1073/pnas.0408162101. PMC 548542. PMID 1568
4058.

External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related
to Palaeogeography.

 A Google earth style map showing continental evolution (dinosaurpictures.org)