Plate tectonic reconstruction of western North America 60 million years ago.
The animation below shows a reconstruction of plate tectonics from 60 million years ago (Ma) to today.
"When 'raised' back to the Earth's surface and reconstructed, the boundaries of this ancient Resurrection tectonic plate match well with the ancient volcanic belts in Washington State and Alaska, providing a much sought after link between the ancient Pacific Ocean and the North American geologic record,"Â says geologist Jonny Wu, from the University of Houston.