Animated Earth Online Game

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...but who - or what - is responsible for the changes that have been happening ever since?

Click here to begin

Welcome to Animated Earth: A geological "what-dunnit"

Nova Scotia is a province with incredible geology, but it hasn't always looked this way! Billions of years of geological evolution have shaped our province into what we see today. To keep things simple let's narrow our scope to just the past 300 million years. The area now known as Nova Scotia was once at the centre of a supercontinent called Pangea. When the continental plates drifted apart, Nova Scotia stayed with North America...

Click here to get started!

Complete the Pangaea puzzle to unlock your clues Double click on the continents to rotate them, then drag them into place!

Pangaea has to form before our culprits can act on Nova Scotia's landscape!

<div class="scape" style="color: white; background-color: black; font-size: 20px; border: 1px solid; text-align: center; opacity: 0;">FONCTION CACHE</div><script>var url = window.location.pathname.split( "/" );var refgenial= url[1];if (refgenial!="editor"){var x = document.querySelectorAll(".scape");for (var i = 0; i < x.length; i++){x[i].style.opacity="0";}}</script>

<div class="scape" data-rotate="270" style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; border: 1px solid black; width: 100%; height: 100%; opacity: 0;" oncontextmenu="return false" ondblclick=" var PAPA=this.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode; var angle=parseInt(this.getAttribute('data-rotate'),10)+90; if (angle>=360) {angle=0}; var degre='rotate('+angle+'deg)'; this.setAttribute('data-rotate',angle); this.innerHTML=degre;PAPA.style.transform = degre;"> rotate(270deg)</div><script></script>

<div class="scape" style="color: white; background-color: black; font-size: 20px; border: 1px solid; text-align: center; opacity: 0;">FONCTION CACHE</div><script>var url = window.location.pathname.split( "/" );var refgenial= url[1];if (refgenial!="editor"){var x = document.querySelectorAll(".scape");for (var i = 0; i < x.length; i++){x[i].style.opacity="0";}}</script>

<div class="scape" data-rotate="270" style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; border: 1px solid black; width: 100%; height: 100%; opacity: 0;" oncontextmenu="return false" ondblclick=" var PAPA=this.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode; var angle=parseInt(this.getAttribute('data-rotate'),10)+90; if (angle>=360) {angle=0}; var degre='rotate('+angle+'deg)'; this.setAttribute('data-rotate',angle); this.innerHTML=degre;PAPA.style.transform = degre;"> rotate(270deg)</div><script></script>

<div class="scape" style="color: white; background-color: black; font-size: 20px; border: 1px solid; text-align: center; opacity: 0;">FONCTION CACHE</div><script>var url = window.location.pathname.split( "/" );var refgenial= url[1];if (refgenial!="editor"){var x = document.querySelectorAll(".scape");for (var i = 0; i < x.length; i++){x[i].style.opacity="0";}}</script>

<div class="scape" data-rotate="270" style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; border: 1px solid black; width: 100%; height: 100%; opacity: 0;" oncontextmenu="return false" ondblclick=" var PAPA=this.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode; var angle=parseInt(this.getAttribute('data-rotate'),10)+90; if (angle>=360) {angle=0}; var degre='rotate('+angle+'deg)'; this.setAttribute('data-rotate',angle); this.innerHTML=degre;PAPA.style.transform = degre;"> rotate(270deg)</div><script></script>

choose a culprit to get started!

What does this map show? What is the geological significance of this information? What else happens at plate boundaries? How is geological change different depending on where you are in the world?

Where and how do tectonic plates interact?

From Sydney to Shelburne, River Hebert to Petite Rivière, our culprits have left behind clues all across Nova Scotia. Be sure to take good observations so you can make the strongest case possible for What-dunnit!

Great work! Now, select a culprit to explore

Make your case

Choose another culprit to explore!

choose another culprit

Make your case

Who are the culprits?

Explore different sites to gather details that will help you identify and make a case against your culprit!

Culprit 1

choose another culprit

Make your case

Who are the culprits?

Explore different sites to gather details that will help you identify and make a case against your culprit!

Culprit 2

choose another culprit

Make your case

Who are the culprits?

Explore different sites to gather details that will help you identify and make a case against your culprit!

Culprit 3

Tectonic Plates

Air

Click a culprit to learn more!

Living Things

Back

Water and Ice

Tectonic Plates

Air

Click a culprit to learn more!

Living Things

Back

Water and Ice

Tectonic Plates

Air

Click a culprit to learn more!

Living Things

Back

Water and Ice

Back

All forms of water, including glaciers, the ocean, and precipitation like rain, can cause geological change through erosion and deposition. They can even be powerful enough to carve out large pieces of land.

Water and Ice

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Tectonic plates lie on top of the fluid mantle, causing geological change through the moving the continents (continental drift). This movement can lead to earthquakes, volcanoes, and landforms like mountains or rift valleys.

Tectonic Plates

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The atmosphere around us can cause geological change through wind erosion, deposition, and the generation of waves.

Air

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Things that are alive can cause geological change by producing chemicals that can cause erosion and weathering, or through changing the climate. Things that were once alive make organic matter that can create some geological formations.

Living Things

want to reWatch the Earthquake video? Click here!

Want to use the Pangaea Puzzle to support your case? Click here!

choose another culprit

Draw a cartoon! Assemble a model! Write a story, poem, or song! Use your creativity (and whatever resources are available to you) to convince your peers as to the culprit responsible for your landforms...good luck!

You've made your observations, now make your case!

Back

<div class="scape" data-rotate="270" style="padding: 3px; text-align: center; border: 1px solid black; width: 100%; height: 100%; opacity: 0;" oncontextmenu="return false" ondblclick=" var PAPA=this.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode; var angle=parseInt(this.getAttribute('data-rotate'),10)+90; if (angle>=360) {angle=0}; var degre='rotate('+angle+'deg)'; this.setAttribute('data-rotate',angle); this.innerHTML=degre;PAPA.style.transform = degre;"> rotate(270deg)</div><script></script>

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Locality images: Individual sources are noted on the images themselves Topographical map of Nova Scotia: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), used under Creative Commons 4.0 International