The animation is adapted from a mechanical map of the North American Cordillera originally constructed at 1:5,000,000 (Sears, 1997). Component tectonic elements were modelled as machine plates that move in harmony about sets of fixed or loose pivots. The animated map is approximately line-length balanced. The lines are actual geological features such as the lower-middle Cambrian paleo-shoreline position or the zero edge of the Belt Supergroup (see legend). The map implies that the accreted terranes of the Cordillera are not far travelled wanderers, but have origins in an Aleutian-type arc and its collapsing marginal sea.

This web site is under construction. I plan to attach individual still maps at key steps in the animation and explain decisions involved in the interpretations. Also, I plan to continue the movement through the Cenozoic extension, and back to the Devonian.

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