Piecing together the puzzle of geologic time to create and analyze historical maps of the Earth is known as

The correct answer is paleogeography.

Key Points

• Paleogeography is the ancient geography of Earth’s surface.
• Earth’s geography is constantly changing and these geographic changes can be traced through the study of the rock and the fossil record, and data can be used to create paleogeographic maps, which illustrate how the continents have moved and how the past locations of mountains, lowlands, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins have changed.
• The study of paleogeography has two principal goals:
  • The first is to map the past positions of the continents and ocean basins
  • The second is to illustrate Earth’s changing geographic features through time.

Important Points 

• Paleogeographic features include mountain ranges, lowlands, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins.
• Some paleogeographic features change very slowly and are easy to map.
• Others change very rapidly, so that any paleogeographic mapping is, at best, an approximation.
• Paleogeographic maps have multiple uses when used in time sequence.
  • They show trends and patterns through geologic time.
  • They readily display the distribution of ancient geologic features at the surface of the Earth. 

Additional Information

• Paleoclimatology is the study of the climate history of Earth. This science helps people better understand the climate of Earth in the past and how it relates to the present and future climate on the planet.
• Paleogeomorphology is a branch of geomorphology concerned with the study of ancient topographic features now either concealed beneath the surface or removed by erosion.