Where Did You Live 750 Million Years Ago?

This interactive map lets you plug in your address and find out where on Earth it was in the Cryogenian Period and all points thereafter.

During the Early Triassic Epoch, Washington, D.C. was situated in a massive supercontinent called Pangea. Ian Webster/Ancient Earth

For example, 240 million years ago, the patch of land that would one day become the National Mall in Washington D.C. was part of an enormous supercontinent known as Pangea. Encompassing nearly all of Earth’s extant land mass, Pangea bore little resemblance to our contemporary planet.

Thanks to a recently released interactive map, however, anyone interested can now superimpose the political boundaries of today onto the geographic formations of yesteryear - at least dating back to 750 million years ago.

The results are intriguing: During the Early Triassic Epoch, the National Mall, for example, was wedged almost directly adjacent to Mauritania, yet to be separated from the Northwest African country by the vast waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ancient Earth, the tool behind this millennia-spanning visualization, is the brainchild of Ian Webster, curator of the world’s largest digital dinosaur database.

Users can input a specific address or more generalized region, such as a state or country, and then choose a date ranging from zero to 750 million years ago. Currently, the map offers 26 timeline options, traveling back from the present to the Cryogenian Period at intervals of 15 to 150 million years. Have fun!

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