405
submitted 20 hours ago by floofloof@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/205768

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Sunforged@lemmy.ml 10 points 19 hours ago

Damn I didn't realize we dug into them tectonic plates.

[-] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 29 points 19 hours ago

They are separate tectonic plates, the two continents only crashed together relatively recently, the "columbian exchange" that saw wildlife mix between the continents. South America was near Africa at one point, North America more with Europe as I understand it.

[-] Jack@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)
  1. Scotia plate (bits of Patagonia),
  2. South American plate,
  3. Altiplano plate,
  4. North Andes plate,
  5. Panama plate,
  6. Caribbean plate,
  7. North America plate,
  8. Pacific plate (Baja California peninsula, southern California).
[-] not_so_handsome_jack@sh.itjust.works 17 points 19 hours ago

I find it really cool that the Appalachian mountains used to be connected with what's now the Scottish Highlands, if memory serves correctly.

[-] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 8 points 19 hours ago

When I was on the Appalachian trail they had a placard that explained it and said it's also the oldest mountain range in the world, and used to be like 4x the size of the himalayans (which is the youngest.) Others have disputed that, but just internet randos with no sources, I trust the NPS placard.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 2 points 37 minutes ago

I trust the NPS placard.

If it was placed before 2025, sure.

Nowadays, though, they're being systematically torn out and replaced with MAGA christofascist propaganda. Think "war of northern aggression" and destruction of anything about black history, for example.

I wouldn't put it past them to replace info about plate tectonics with creationist bullshit eventually.

[-] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 2 points 28 minutes ago

It was a long time ago, and I trust that nps placard. The ones in the cities are not so reliable. I saw one in Independence square in philly that blamed the quakers of all people for slavery (they were against it from the start,) and otherwise projected blame, credit for the placard was like, avenging our ancestors or some shit. The south rose again and took us from the inside, except they did it by an unholy alliance with big business and religion, and it will destroy us all, and our republic.

So crazy to think about because they're so worn down at this point. Neat!

[-] Zombie@feddit.uk 4 points 17 hours ago

Hills near me (northern Scotland) were once magma chambers underneath volcanoes! That's how worn down they are. Wild to think about, and makes some lovely granite.

[-] Sunforged@lemmy.ml 1 points 17 hours ago

(That's the joke)

[-] hesh@quokk.au 5 points 19 hours ago

They're also not on the same tectonic plate

[-] Sunforged@lemmy.ml 1 points 17 hours ago

(That's the joke)

[-] frongt@lemmy.zip 3 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

We did! The canal is tens of meters deep, while bedrock is typically not more than a few meters below the surface anywhere on earth (except where cover naturally collects in places like valleys).

this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
405 points (100.0% liked)

World News

54862 readers
2700 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS