How climate and continents shaped what we see on land today, and what fossils tell us about the world’s long history.
This book explains how plants and animals reveal past climate changes across Europe and North America. It shows how alpine forms appear on high mountains, how arctic species reach down to sea level in northern regions, and how shifts in temperature could have moved life across continents. It also presents fossil evidence, such as bones of northern animals found in lowland soils and caves, to illustrate a much colder, more Arctic Europe in the past. Glacial traces and the reach of ancient ice help explain why today’s landscapes look the way they do.
- How alpine flora appears from the Alps to the Pyrenees and why elevation matters
- How northern, Arctic plants invade and retreat across different latitudes
- What fossils and ancient bones tell us about past climates and animal life
- How evidence of former glaciers explains the distribution of landforms
Ideal for readers curious about how Earth’s climate shaped life and the surface of the continents.