Overview of Global Paleogeography

Paleogeography is the study of how the Earth’s geography has changed during the course of history. Using geological data, scientists reconstruct how the continents formed and broke apart. Using visual representations of the data—like the ones below—scientists can see how the Earth’s surface has shaped itself over many millions of years.
Early Cambrian period
 
540 million years ago

Late Permian period
 
260 million years ago

Eocene period
 
50 million years ago