THE TRAVESTY OF TIME AND TERRAIN

The Travesty of Time and Terrain is a simple game based on the recently published North America Tapestry of Time and Terrain. The aim of the Travesty is to further educate and familiarize people with North American geology by teaching them to recognize specific features and patterns. The Tapestry has been subjected to digital geologic forces, resulting in the Travesty; the participant compares the Travesty to the Tapestry to find these changes.

There are 40 changes on the map, mainly to ages or topographic features. Some features have been relocated, some new features have been added, and some have been modified to “fit” their theory of formation.

An intrinsic value of the Tapestry map is that its broad scale facilitates the recognition of patterns not seen on the ground or smaller maps. Large features that stand out include the Canadian Shield (in red and orange), the Mesozoic deposits that approximate the outline of the prehistoric inland sea (green on the map), and the Rocky Mountain Trench. But, there are also many notable regional and local features on the map that deserve attention. For that reason, on the earlier U.S. Tapestry website, there are pages devoted to these features (http://tapestry.usgs.gov/features/features.html); and the site being built around the new North America Tapestry will also highlight features on the continent. Although much of the Tapestry's merit lies in its macro-scale perspective, many useful and important features on a smaller-scale are well-defined. It is this aspect that the Travesty emphasizes.

Individuals familiar with a specific area tend to look for it. Both the Tapestry and Travesty merit close examination. Rather than starting from familiarity, the Travesty takes a different route to acquainting viewers with local or regional features; by searching for and spotting the sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant changes, the viewer will gain a better understanding of the details within the map. They may also pick up on some geologic principles or issues relating to those changes; for example, rocks in the North Slope of Alaska have been changed from Tertiary to Precambrian, negating the potential for oil; and the Chicxulub crater is now readily visible on the Yucután peninsula.