Sup fam.
Same range…
the Appalachian Mountains and Scottish Highlands are parts of the same ancient mountain system.
6
The connection
About 480–300 million years ago, several episodes of continental collision—the Taconic, Acadian, and Alleghanian orogenies—built a huge mountain belt across what is now eastern North America and parts of Europe.
Then, roughly 335–300 million years ago, Africa collided with North America during the assembly of Pangaea. This produced the Appalachian portion of the mountain belt.
At the time, Scotland was physically connected to North America. The mountains being formed on the two sides were part of the same broader Appalachian–Caledonian mountain system.
When Pangaea later broke apart, the Atlantic Ocean opened between them.
So you can think of it approximately like this:
Today:
Scotland | Atlantic Ocean | Newfoundland → New England → Appalachians
Before the Atlantic opened:
Scotland ————— North America
with related portions of the ancient mountain belt continuing across the joined landmass.
And there is an even more striking connection
Some rocks and geological structures in Scotland, Newfoundland, New England, and the Appalachians match remarkably well. In places, you can essentially follow geological formations across the Atlantic and see how they fit together when the continents are reconstructed.
The Scottish Highlands are principally associated with the Caledonian orogeny, while the Appalachians are the North American expression of several related mountain-building events. So saying "the Appalachians are the Scottish Highlands" is too strong, but:
The Appalachians and Scottish Highlands are surviving pieces of an ancient interconnected mountain belt that was split apart by the opening of the Atlantic.
And there's a particularly interesting consequence: the Appalachians were once dramatically taller and more rugged than they are today. Their present rounded, worn-down appearance is largely the result of hundreds of millions of years of erosion.
>>25044773
>LMFAO
?
How is that humorous?
>>2504483
cyclical pole shifts have never been pole reversals. Incorrect. Continue laughing though- best medicine. Perhaps even if it is maniacal