Historical Geology Animations
Compiled by Mark Francek (more info) at Central Michigan University (more info)
Find animations depicting dating techniques, significant geologic events, and dinosaurs.
How fossils form ( This site may be offline. ) Find a Flash animation by Exploring Earth showing the formation of a fossil cast and mold. The sequence, which in reality can take thousands or millions of years, is sped up to a few seconds beginning first with burial and then exposure of the cast (actual copy of the creature) and the mold (the hollow impression formed by the creature). The animation can be rewound to stress important points.
Geologic Time ( This site may be offline. ) This 1992 video series on Earth Science is available free in its entirety online, including one half-hour episode about mountain building, featuring animations, interviews with geologists, and spectacular footage of the results of orogeny. The films are viewable for free, although registration is required. All films are hosted in WMV format.
Dinosaur Planet Video Gallery, Discovery Channel (more info) Despite the long loading times and annoying advertisements, there are a variety of worthwhile Flash and Windows media animations. As might be expected, the animations tend to stress the flashy, violent aspects of dinosaurs, like velociraptor attacks but there are also clips showing dinosaur eggs hatching, dinosaur locomotion, and even an interview with a paleontologist. A fast connection is a must to properly view this site.
