WI No panama ithmus?

[Straha]

No Isthmus of Panaman. S America seperate from it's Northern
counterpart.

Conseqences...

[tom]

Gulf Stream goes into the Pacific?

[DominusNovus]

South American fauna develop independantly to North American (depending on how far back this happens, of course)

[Straha]

I was thinking maybe 8000 years ago to make sure we get a humankind

[Straha]

Here's some possible consequences

If everything from Yucatan to Panama inclusive is missing from the beginning, there would have been no Pleistocene invasion of South America from the north, and the old notoungulates and Thylacosmilus etc would still be there, and more phororachid birds - unless Man wiped them out. A few northern animals such as the ancestor of Chapmanalia got in OTL by island-hopping or on a raft of floating vegetation before the land-bridge formed. This means South America has a fauna largely consisting of marsupalian mammals (those were exterminated by the placentalians when the continents joined).

Chinese exploring down the coast of America could get through easily and find a sea route to Europe.

europeans might get to the Far East sooner and perhaps in time to stop Malaya and Indonesia from being Islamized.

Climate effects: Africa more moist, forest instead of savannah.

Would the cool water flow from the Pacific disrupt the gulf stream? If so, Europe is a lot colder especially England and Ireland. Europe is practically canadian or siberian wihch means its uninhabitable. US East coast much colder.

Obviously a passage at Panama would make trade a lot easier; quicker expansion into the PAcific, higher levels of trade throughout post- Columbian history.

[Iñaki]

In fact I suppose we could see icebergs near London with this premise

[Straha]

Panama being oepnd means there's a way for warm water to travel around the world more easily so we'd see a warmer world. But your point about the gulf stream shut off and europe being cooler is still applicable. Its just that the world climate would be somewhat warmed up by the ring current so we'd see not as much of a cooling for london as you mention.

[Doeth]

S america would still be a plains continent, with birds dominating...

[Nekromans]

I bet nobody even THOUGHT of this one.



























Are you ready?










The Yanks wouldn't build a Panama Canal. (OMG ANTICLIMAX!)

[Tyr]

S america would still be a plains continent, with birds dominating...
I don't know...Birds would still fly between N and S, they would bring tree seeds with them.

[Nik]

That's not Japan, that cannot be Japan, Japan is *much* further. Even the Ancient Greeks knew the Earth is bigger than this...

Are we nearly there yet ?

Let's stop here for water...

Then the Easter Islanders do a 'Cook' on him...

Another 'butterfly' is that the French don't lose umpteen millions of francs, thousands of workers and many reputations on their incomplete Mk1 Panama Canal. They'd probably build an avenue of light-houses instead...