Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

The North America tapestry of time and terrain

October 1, 2003

The North America Tapestry of Time and Terrain (1:8,000,000 scale) is a product of the US Geological Survey in the I-map series (I-2781). This map was prepared in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Canada and the Mexican Consejo Recursos de Minerales. 

This cartographic Tapestry is woven from a geologic map and a shaded relief image. This digital combination reveals the geologic history of North America through the interrelation of rock type, topography and time. Regional surface processes as well as continent-scale tectonic events are exposed in the three dimensions of space and the fourth dimension, geologic time. The large map shows the varying age of bedrock underlying North America, while four smaller maps show the distribution of four principal types of rock: sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic and metamorphic.

This map expands the original concept of the 2000 Tapestry of Time and Terrain, by José F. Vigil, Richard J. Pike and David G. Howell, which covered the conterminous United States. The U.S. Tapestry poster and website have been popular in classrooms, homes, and even the Google office building, and we anticipate the North America Tapestry will have a similarly wide appeal, and to a larger audience.

Publication Year 2003
Title The North America tapestry of time and terrain
DOI 10.3133/i2781
Authors Kate E. Barton, David G. Howell, José F. Vigil
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title IMAP
Series Number 2781
Index ID i2781
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization U.S. Geological Survey
Was this page helpful?