As the previous GeoCurrents post argued, the division of the terrestrial world into a handful of continents derives in part from the division of the Earth’s crust into tectonic plates. But there is another geological factor equally pertinent to the concept of “continent.” It refers not to individual landmasses but rather to a particular kind […] The post Mapping Continents Based on Continental Crust appeared first on GeoCurrents.

Many maps, in my view, are also work of art, regardless of their creators’ intentions. Some maps, however, are explicitly made as art, and as such are not designed to convey spatial information beyond that found in the mere geographical shapes that they contain. Increasingly, it can be difficult to tell whether a given map […] The post Map Art or Scientific Cartography? appeared first on GeoCurrents.

Tectonic plates are the basic building blocks of the Earth’s lithosphere, its outermost rocky layer. As these large segments of crust slowly move, landmasses and sea expanses are gradually rearranged. The current configuration of tectonic plates shows a tight connection with the architecture of continents: North America is on the North American plate; South America […] The post Are Continents Rooted in Plate Tectonics? appeared first on GeoCurrents.