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The white areas are places that show evidence of a massive ice sheet that existed around 250 million years ago. Which landmasses show evidence of ancient glaciers?

a. Africa and Australia
b. South America and Antarctica
c. North America and Europe
d. Asia and South America

User Klaas
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Africa and Australia do not exhibit evidence of ancient ice sheets. The landmasses that have evidence of glaciation-related to a massive ice sheet 250 million years ago are South America and Antarctica.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question revolves around the evidence of ancient glaciers on various landmasses, related to an ice sheet that existed around 250 million years ago. When investigating evidence for ancient ice sheets, geologists use the geochemical fingerprint of eroded sediment to match it to rocks that exist on the continent, which helps to determine the areas covered by those ice sheets.

Based on the available geological evidence and past glacial activity, as well as the ice sheets' impact on landscapes and sediment distribution, Africa and Australia do not show evidence of having been under massive ice sheets during this past period. Rather, it was areas around the North Pole and landmasses like present-day Russia, Scandinavia, the British Isles, Greenland, Canada, and the northern reaches of the United States that exhibit signs of glaciation. This occurred during the most recent ice age, which had its peak glaciation roughly eighteen thousand years ago.

The Antarctic region is known to have a large ice mass sitting atop the continent, with areas of bare ground indicating glacial activity. Therefore, amongst the options provided, the most accurate would be that the landmasses showing evidence of ancient glaciers are South America and Antarctica. These regions were once covered by the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the south, and Antarctica has an extensive history of glaciation, as it is still covered by an ice sheet today.

User Jim Horng
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