PangaeaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor other uses, see Pangaea (disambiguation).Map of Pangaea with modern continental outlines.Pangaea or Pangea (/pn d i !/ "#$) was a supercontinent that e%isted during the late Paleo&oic and early Meso&oic eras."'$ (t assembled from earlier continental units appro%imately )** million years ago, and it began to break apart about #+, million years ago.")$ (n contrast to the present -arth and its distribution of continental mass, much of Pangaea was in the southern hemisphere and surrounded by a super ocean, Panthalassa. Pangaea was the last supercontinent to ha.e e%isted and the first to be reconstructed by geologists.Contents # /rigin of the concept ' Formation of Pangaea ) -.idence of e%istence 0 1ifting and break2up , 3ee also 4 1eferences + -%ternal linksOrigin of the concept5he name is deri.ed from 6ncient 7reek pan (8 9 , :all, entire, whole:) and Gaia (;< < , :Mother-arth, land:)."0$"=$ 5he concept was first proposed by 6lfred Wegener, the originator of the theory of continental drift, in his #=#' publication The Origin of Continents (Die Entstehung der Kontinente)."#*$ >e e%panded this hypothesis into his theory in his book The Origin of Continentsand Oceans (Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane), first published in #=#,, in which he postulated that (before breaking up and drifting to their present locations) all the continents had formed a single supercontinent that he called the :Urkontinent:. 5he name first occurs in the #='* edition of Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane, but only once, when Wegener refers to the ancient supercontinent as :the Pangaea of the ?arboniferous:."##$ Wegener used the 7ermani&ed form :Pang@a:, but the term entered 7erman and -nglish scientific literature (in #=''"#'$ and #='4, respecti.ely) in the Aatini&ed form :Pangaea: (of the 7reek :Pangaia:), especially due to a symposium of the 6merican 6ssociation of Petroleum 7eologists in Bo.ember #='4."#)$Formation of Pangaea6ppalachian orogeny5he forming of supercontinents and their breaking up appears to ha.e been cyclical through -arthCs history. 5here may ha.e been many others before Pangaea. 5he fourth2last supercontinent, called ?olumbia or Buna, appears to ha.e assembled in the period '.*D#.E 7a."#0$"#,$ ?olumbia/Buna broke up and the ne%t supercontinent, 1odinia, formed from the accretion andassembly of its fragments. 1odinia lasted from about #.# billion years ago (7a) until about +,* million years ago, but its e%act configuration and geodynamic history are not nearly as well understood as those of the later supercontinents, Pannotia and Pangaea.When 1odinia broke up, it split into three piecesF the supercontinent of Proto2Aaurasia, the supercontinent of Proto27ondwana, and the smaller ?ongo craton. Proto2Aaurasia and Proto27ondwana were separated by the Proto25ethys /cean. Be%t Proto2Aaurasia itself split apart to form the continents of Aaurentia, 3iberia and Galtica. Galtica mo.ed to the east of Aaurentia, and3iberia mo.ed northeast of Aaurentia. 5he splitting also created two new oceans, the (apetus /cean and Paleoasian /cean. Most of the abo.e masses coalesced again to form the relati.ely short2li.ed supercontinent of Pannotia. 5his supercontinent included large amounts of land near the poles and, near the eHuator, only a relati.ely small strip connecting the polar masses. Pannotia lasted until ,0* Ma, near the beginning of the ?ambrian period and then broke up, gi.ing rise to the continents of Aaurentia, Galtica, and the southern supercontinent of 7ondwana.(n the ?ambrian period, the continent of Aaurentia, which would later become Borth 6merica, sat on the eHuator, with three bordering oceansF the Panthalassic /cean to the north and west, the(apetus /cean to the south and the Ihanty /cean to the east. (n the -arliest /rdo.ician, around 0E* Ma, the microcontinent of 6.alonia D a landmass incorporating fragments of what would become eastern Bewfoundland, the southern Gritish (sles, and parts of Gelgium, northern France,Bo.a 3cotia, Bew -ngland, (beria and northwest 6frica D broke free from 7ondwana and began its Journey to Aaurentia."#4$ Galtica, Aaurentia, and 6.alonia all came together by the end of the /rdo.ician to form a minor supercontinent called -uramerica or Aaurussia, closing the (apetus /cean. 5he collision also resulted in the formation of the northern 6ppalachians. 3iberia sat near-uramerica, with the Ihanty /cean between the two continents. While all this was happening, 7ondwana drifted slowly towards the 3outh Pole. 5his was the first step of the formation of Pangaea."#+$5he second step in the formation of Pangaea was the collision of 7ondwana with -uramerica. Gy3ilurian time, 00* Ma, Galtica had already collided with Aaurentia, forming -uramerica. 6.alonia had not yet collided with Aaurentia, but as 6.alonia inched towards Aaurentia, the seaway between them, a remnant of the (apetus /cean, was slowly shrinking. Meanwhile, southern -urope broke off from 7ondwana and began to mo.e towards -uramerica across the newly formed 1heic /cean. (t collided with southern Galtica in the Ke.onian, though this microcontinent was an underwater plate. 5he (apetus /ceanCs sister ocean, the Ihanty /cean, shrank as an island arc from 3iberia collided with eastern Galtica (now part of -uramerica). Gehind this island arc was a new ocean, the Lral /cean.Gy late 3ilurian time, Borth and 3outh ?hina split from 7ondwana and started to head northward, shrinking the Proto25ethys /cean in their path and opening the new Paleo25ethys /cean to their south. (n the Ke.onian Period, 7ondwana itself headed towards -uramerica, causing the 1heic /cean to shrink. (n the -arly ?arboniferous, northwest 6frica had touched the southeastern coast of -uramerica, creating the southern portion of the 6ppalachian Mountains, and the Meseta Mountains. 3outh 6merica mo.ed northward to southern -uramerica, while the eastern portion of 7ondwana ((ndia, 6ntarctica and 6ustralia) headed toward the 3outh Pole from the eHuator. Borth and 3outh ?hina were on independent continents. 5he Ia&akhstania microcontinent had collided with 3iberia. (3iberia had been a separate continent for millions of years since the deformation of the supercontinent Pannotia in the Middle ?arboniferous.)Western Ia&akhstania collided with Galtica in the Aate ?arboniferous, closing the Lral /cean between them and the western Proto25ethys in them (Lralian orogeny), causing the formation of not only the Lral Mountains but also the supercontinent of Aaurasia. 5his was the last step of the formation of Pangaea. Meanwhile, 3outh 6merica had collided with southern Aaurentia, closing the 1heic /cean and forming the southernmost part of the 6ppalachians and /uachita Mountains. Gy this time, 7ondwana was positioned near the 3outh Pole and glaciers were forming in 6ntarctica, (ndia, 6ustralia, southern 6frica and 3outh 6merica. 5he Borth ?hina block collided with 3iberia by Aate ?arboniferous time, completely closing the Proto25ethys /cean.Gy -arly Permian time, the ?immerian plate split from 7ondwana and headed towards Aaurasia, thus closing the Paleo25ethys /cean, but forming a new ocean, the 5ethys /cean, in its southern end. Most of the landmasses were all in one. Gy the 5riassic Period, Pangaea rotated a little and the ?immerian plate was still tra.elling across the shrinking Paleo25ethys, until the Middle Murassic time. 5he Paleo25ethys had closed from west to east, creating the ?immerian /rogeny. Pangaea, which looked like a C, with the new 5ethys /cean inside the C, had rifted by the Middle Murassic, and its deformation is e%plained below.Evidence of existence5he distribution of fossils across the continents is one line of e.idence pointing to the e%istence of Pangaea.Fossil e.idence for Pangaea includes the presence of similar and identical species on continents that are now great distances apart. For e%ample, fossils of the therapsid Lystrosaurus ha.e been found in 3outh 6frica, (ndia and 6ustralia, alongside members of the Glossopteris flora, whose distribution would ha.e ranged from the polar circle to the eHuator if the continents had been in their present positionN similarly, the freshwater reptile Mesosaurus has been found in only locali&ed regions of the coasts of Gra&il and West 6frica."#E$6dditional e.idence for Pangaea is found in the geology of adJacent continents, including matching geological trends between the eastern coast of 3outh 6merica and the western coast of 6frica. 5he polar ice cap of the ?arboniferous Period co.ered the southern end of Pangaea. 7lacial deposits, specifically till, of the same age and structure are found on many separate continents which would ha.e been together in the continent of Pangaea."#=$Paleomagnetic study of apparent polar wandering paths also support the theory of a supercontinent. 7eologists can determine the mo.ement of continental plates by e%amining the orientation of magnetic minerals in rocksN when rocks are formed, they take on the magnetic properties of the -arth and indicate in which direction the poles lie relati.e to the rock. 3ince the magnetic poles drift about the rotational pole with a period of only a few thousand years, measurements from numerous la.as spanning se.eral thousand years are a.eraged to gi.e an apparent mean polar position. 3amples of sedimentary rock and intrusi.e igneous rock ha.e magnetic orientations that are typically an a.erage of the :secular .ariation: in the orientation of magnetic north because their remanent magneti&ations are not acHuired instantaneously. Magnetic differences between sample groups whose age .aries by millions of years is due to a combination of true polar wander and the drifting of continents. 5he true polar wander component is identical for all samples, and can be remo.ed, lea.ing geologists with the portion of this motion that shows continental drift and can be used to help reconstruct earlier continental positions."'*$5he continuity of mountain chains pro.ides further e.idence for Pangaea. /ne e%ample of this is the 6ppalachian Mountains chain which e%tends from the southeastern Lnited 3tates to the ?aledonides of (reland, Gritain, 7reenland, and 3candina.ia."'#$Rifting and break-up6nimation of the rifting of Pangaea5here were three maJor phases in the break2up of Pangaea. 5he first phase began in the -arly2Middle Murassic (about #+, Ma), when Pangaea began to rift from the 5ethys /cean in the east tothe Pacific in the west, ultimately gi.ing rise to the supercontinents Aaurasia and 7ondwana. 5herifting that took place between Borth 6merica and 6frica produced multiple failed rifts. /ne rift resulted in a new ocean, the Borth 6tlantic /cean."''$5he 6tlantic /cean did not open uniformlyN rifting began in the north2central 6tlantic. 5he 3outh6tlantic did not open until the ?retaceous when Aaurasia started to rotate clockwise and mo.ed northward with Borth 6merica to the north, and -urasia to the south. 5he clockwise motion of Aaurasia led to the closing of the 5ethys /cean. Meanwhile, on the other side of 6frica and alongthe adJacent margins of east 6frica, 6ntarctica and Madagascar, new rifts were forming that would not only lead to the formation of the southwestern (ndian /cean but also open up in the ?retaceous.5he second maJor phase in the break2up of Pangaea began in the -arly ?retaceous (#,*D#0* Ma), when the minor supercontinent of 7ondwana separated into multiple continents (6frica, 3outh 6merica, (ndia, 6ntarctica, and 6ustralia). 6bout '** Ma, the continent of ?immeria, as mentioned abo.e (see :Formation of Pangaea:), collided with -urasia. >owe.er, a subduction &one was forming, as soon as ?immeria collided."''$5his subduction &one is called the 5ethyan 5rench. 5his trench might ha.e subducted what is called the 5ethyan mid2ocean ridge, a ridge responsible for the 5ethys /ceanCs e%pansion. (t probably caused 6frica, (ndia and 6ustralia to mo.e northward. (n the -arly ?retaceous, 6tlantica, todayCs 3outh 6merica and 6frica, finally separated from eastern 7ondwana (6ntarctica, (ndia and 6ustralia), causing the opening of a :3outh (ndian /cean:. (n the Middle ?retaceous, 7ondwana fragmented to open up the 3outh 6tlantic /cean as 3outh 6merica started to mo.e westward away from 6frica. 5he 3outh 6tlantic did not de.elop uniformlyN rather, it rifted from south to north.6lso, at the same time, Madagascar and (ndia began to separate from 6ntarctica and mo.ed northward, opening up the (ndian /cean. Madagascar and (ndia separated from each other #**D=* Ma in the Aate ?retaceous. (ndia continued to mo.e northward toward -urasia at #, centimeters (4 in) a year (a plate tectonic record), closing the 5ethys /cean, while Madagascar stopped and became locked to the 6frican Plate. Bew Oealand, Bew ?aledonia and the rest of Oealandia began to separate from 6ustralia, mo.ing eastward toward the Pacific and opening the ?oral 3ea and 5asman 3ea.5he third maJor and final phase of the break2up of Pangaea occurred in the early ?eno&oic (Paleocene to /ligocene). Aaurasia split when Borth 6merica/7reenland (also called Aaurentia) broke free from -urasia, opening the Borwegian 3ea about 4*D,, Ma. 5he 6tlantic and (ndian /ceans continued to e%pand, closing the 5ethys /cean.Meanwhile, 6ustralia split from 6ntarctica and mo.ed rapidly northward, Just as (ndia had done more than 0* million years before. 6ustralia is currently on a collision course with eastern 6sia. Goth 6ustralia and (ndia are currently mo.ing northeast at ,D4 centimeters ('D) in) a year. 6ntarctica has been near or at the 3outh Pole since the formation of Pangaea about 'E* Ma. (ndiastarted to collide with 6sia beginning about ), Ma, forming the >imalayan orogeny, and also finally closing the 5ethys 3eawayN this collision continues today. 5he 6frican Plate started to change directions, from west to northwest toward -urope, and 3outh 6merica began to mo.e in anorthward direction, separating it from 6ntarctica and allowing complete oceanic circulation around 6ntarctica for the first time. 5his motion, together with decreasing atmospheric carbon dio%ide concentrations, caused a rapid cooling of 6ntarctica and allowed glaciers to form. 5his glaciation e.entually coalesced into the kilometers2thick ice sheets seen today."')$ /ther maJor e.ents took place during the ?eno&oic, including the opening of the 7ulf of ?alifornia, the uplift of the 6lps, and the opening of the 3ea of Mapan. 5he break2up of Pangaea continues today in the 1ed 3ea 1ift and -ast 6frican 1ift.See also >istory of the -arth 3upercontinent cycle Aist of supercontinents Potential future supercontinentsF Pangaea Lltima, Bo.opangaea P 6masia P6B76-6, a data library for earth system science, operated by the 6lfred Wegener (nstitute for Polar and Marine 1esearch (6W()References#. /%ford Kictionaries Ao.ett, 1ichard 6 (3eptember ,, '**E). :3upercontinent Pangaea Pushed, Bot 3ucked, (nto Place:. Bational 7eographic Bews. Plate 5ectonics and ?rustal -.olution, 5hird -d., #=E=, by Ient ?. ?ondie, PergamonPress :Pangaea:. /nline -tymology Kictionary. Qergilius Maro, Publius. Georgicon, (Q.04' Aucan. Pharsalia, (.4+= Aewis, ?.5. P al. :Pangaeus: inLatin Dictionary. (Bew Rork), #E+=. Lsener, >. !cholia in Lucani "ellu# Ci$ile , Qol. (. (Aeip&ig), #E4=. 6s :Pangaea:, it appears in 7reek mythology as a mountain battle site during the 5itanomachia. 6s :Pangaeus:, it was the name of a specific mountain range in southern 5hrace. :Pangaea: also appears in QergilCs Georgics",$ and AucanCs Pharsalia"4$"+$ 5he scholiast on Aucan glossed Pangaea id est totu# terraS:PangaeaF that is, all land:Sas ha.ing recei.ed its name on account of its smooth terrain and une%pected fertility."E$ 6lfred WegenerF Die Entstehung der Kontinente% Kr. 6. PetermannCs Mitteilungen aus Mustus PerthesC 7eographischer 6nstalt, ,E(#)F 7otha #=#' 3eeF Wegener, 6lfred, Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane, 'nd ed. (Graunschweig, 7ermanyF F. Qieweg, #='*), p. #'*. From p. #'*F :3chon die Pang@a der Iarbon&eit hatteso einen Qorderrand T : "6lready the Pangea of the ?arboniferous era had such a leadingedge T $ ((n the #='' edition, see p. #)*.) Wegener, 6.N Irause, 1.N 5hiede, M. ('**,). :Iontinental2QerschiebungenF /riginalnoti&en und Aiteraturaus&Uge: (?ontinental driftF the original notes and Huotations). "erichte zur Polar& und Meeresforschung '(eports on Polar and Marine (esearch) ,#4. 6lfred2Wegener2(nstitutF Gremerha.en, p. 0, n. ' -rich MaworskiF Die % *egenersche +ypothese der Kontinental$erschie,ung% 7eologische 1undschau, #)F '+)2'=4, Gerlin #=''. /nline bei digi&eitschriften.de Willem 6. M. M. .an Waterschoot .an der 7racht (and #) other authors)F Theory of Continental Drift- a !y#posiu# of the Origin and Mo$e#ents of Landasses of ,oth .nter&Continental and .ntra&Continental/ as proposed ,y lfred *egener% V W '0* 3., 5ulsa, /klahoma, L36, 5he 6merican 6ssociation of Petroleum 7eologists P Aondon, 5homas MurbyP ?o. Ohao, 7uochunN ?awood, Peter 6.N Wilde, 3imon 6.N 3un, M. ('**'). :1e.iew of global'.#D#.E 7a orogensF implications for a pre21odinia supercontinent. Earth&!cience (e$ie0s, .. ,=,p. #',D#4':. Ohao, 7uochunN 3un, M.N Wilde, 3imon 6.N Ai, 3.O. ('**0). :6 Paleo2Mesoprotero&oicsupercontinentF assembly, growth and breakup. Earth&!cience (e$ie0s, .. 4+, p. =#D#'):. 3tanley, 3te.en (#==E). Earth !yste# +istory. L36. pp. ),,D),=. 3tanley, 3te.en (#==E). Earth !yste# +istory. L36. pp. )E4D)='. Genton, M.M. 1erte,rate Palaeontology. 5hird edition (/%ford '**,), ',. Garbara W. Murck, Grian M. 3kinner, Geology Today- Understanding Our Planet/ !tudy Guide, Wiley, (3GB =+E2*20+#2)')')2, Philip Iearey, Ieith 6. Ilepeis, Frederick M. Qine ('**=). Glo,al Tectonics ()rd. ed), p.44D4+. ?hichesterFWiley. (3GB =+E2#20*,#2*+++2E Oeeya Merali, Grian M. 3kinner, 1isualizing Earth !cience, Wiley, (3GB =+E2*20+*20#E0+2, Oeeya Merali, Grian M. 3kinner, Qisuali&ing -arth 3cience, Wiley, (3GB =+E2*20+*20#E0+2, #. Bature 0'#, pp'0,D'0= (#4 Manuary '**))httpF//www.nature.com/nature/Journal/.0'#/n4='*/abs/nature*#'=*.htmlExternal linksWikimedia ?ommons has media related to Pangaea.Aook up Pangaea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. L373 /.er.iew Map of 5riassic Pangaea at Paleomaps B>M 7allery[hide v t eContinents of the !orld 6frica 6fro2-urasia !ee also (egions of the 0orld Continental frag#ent "ook Categor#$uthorit#control GBFF cb#',***0)k (data)?ategoriesF 7eological history of -arth >istorical continents ?arboniferous paleogeography Permian paleogeography 5riassic paleogeography Murassic paleogeography Plate tectonics 3upercontinents%avigation menu ?reate account Aog in 6rticle 5alk 1ead -dit Qiew history Main page ?ontents Featured content ?urrent e.ents 1andom article Konate to Wikipedia Wikipedia store&nteraction >elp 6bout Wikipedia ?ommunity portal 1ecent changes ?ontact page'ools What links here 1elated changes Lpload file 3pecial pages Permanent link Page information Wikidata item ?ite this pagePrint(export ?reate a book Kownload as PKF Printable .ersion)anguages 6frikaans XYZ[\]^ 6sturianu 6&!rbaycanca _`abcdefbg _`abcdefbg (hbcbif`jklb) _manbcefo Gosanski Gre&honeg ?atalp ?ebuano qertina ?ymraeg Kansk Keutsch -esti sttu9vwx -spayol -speranto -uskara z{|}~ Franais 7aeilge 7pidhlig 7alego >r.atski Gahasa (ndonesia slenska (taliano Gasa Mawa bbib Iiswahili Ireyl ayisyen Aatina Aat.ieru At&ebuergesch Aietu.i Magyar bf`efo Malti Bederlands Borsk bokml Borsk nynorsk /ccitan zZ} Piemontis Polski Portugus 1omn deefo 3hHip 3icilianu 3imple -nglish 3lo.enina 3lo.enrina 3oomaaliga cefo / srpski 3rpskohr.atski / ecefcjbhefo 3uomi 3.enska 5agalog bhbcb/tatara 5Urke fcbefb |^ 5ing Qit Walon Oa&aki -dit links 5his page was last modified on '* Muly '*#,, at '#F'E. 5e%t is a.ailable under the ?reati.e ?ommons 6ttribution23hare6like AicenseN additionalterms may apply. 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