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Pangaea or
Pangæa (OED, from παν,
pan, meaning
entire, and γαια,
gaia, meaning
Earth in
Ancient Greek) was the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before each of the component continents were separated into their current configuration.
The name was first used by the German people originator of the continental drift theory, Alfred Wegener, in the 1920 edition of his book
The Origin of Continents and Oceans (Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane), in which a postulated supercontinent Pangaea played a key role.
Configuration of Pangaea
Pangaea is believed to have been a C-shaped landmass that was spread across the
equator. The
body of water that was believed to have been enclosed within the resulting crescent has been named the
Tethys Sea. Owing to Pangaea's massive size, the inland regions appear to have been very dry, due to the lack of
Precipitation (meteorology). The large supercontinent would potentially have allowed terrestrial animals to migrate freely all the way from the
South Pole to the
North Pole.
The vast ocean that once surrounded the supercontinent of Pangaea has been named Panthalassa. Pangaea is believed to have broken up about 180 million years ago (
Mya (unit)) in the
Jurassic Period (geology), first into two supercontinents (
Gondwana to the
south and Laurasia to the north), thereafter into the
continents as we understand them today.
Formation of Pangaea
Rodinia, which formed 1.1 billion years ago during the Proterozoic, was the supercontinent from which all subsequent continents, sub or super, derived. Rodinia does not preclude the possibility of
Vaalbara as the breakup and formation of supercontinents appear to be supercontinent cycle through Earth's 4.6 billion years.
Gondwana followed with several iterations before the formation of Pangaea, which succeeded Pannotia, before the beginning of the Paleozoic Era (545 mya) and the
Phanerozoic Eon.
The minor supercontinent of
Proto-Laurasia rifted away from Gondwana and moved across the
Panthalassic Ocean. A new ocean was forming between the two continents, the
Proto-Tethys Ocean. Soon, Proto-Laurasia rifted apart itself to create
Laurentia,
Siberia (continent) and Baltica. The rifting also spawned two new oceans, the Iapetus Ocean and
Khanty Oceans. Baltica remained east of Laurentia, and Siberia sat northeast of Laurentia.
In the
Cambrian the independent continent of
Laurentia on what would become
North America sat on the
equator, with three bordering oceans of
Panthalassic Ocean to the north and west and Iapetus Ocean to the south, and
Khanty Ocean to the east. In the Earliest Ordovician, the microcontinent of
Avalonia, a landmass that would become the northeastern United States,
Nova Scotia, and England, broke free from Gondwana and began its journey to Laurentia.
Baltica collided with Laurentia by the end of Ordovician, and northern Avalonia collided with Baltica and Laurentia. Laurentia, Baltica, and Avalonia formed to create a minor supercontinent of Euramerica or Laurussia, closing the Iapetus Ocean, while the
Rheic Ocean expanded in the southern coast of Avalonia. The collision also resulted in the formation of the Northern Appalachians.
Siberia (continent) sat near Euramerica, with
Khanty Ocean between the two continents. While all this was happening, Gondwana drifted slowly towards the South Pole. This was the first step of the formation of Pangaea.
The second step in the formation of Pangaea was the collision of Gondwana with
Euramerica. By
Silurian time, Baltica had already collided with Laurentia to form Euramerica.
Avalonia hadn't collided with
Laurentia yet, and a seaway between them was a remnant of
Iapetus Ocean was still shrinking as Avalonia slowly inches towards Laurentia.
Meanwhile,
southern Europe fragmented from Gondwana and started to head towards Euramerica across the newly formed
Rheic Ocean and collided with southern Baltica in the Devonian, though this microcontinent was an underwater plate. Iapetus Ocean's sister ocean, Khanty Ocean, was also shrinking as an island arc from Siberia collided with eastern Baltica (now part of Euramerica). Behind this
island arc was a new ocean,
Ural Ocean.
By late Silurian time, North China (continent) and
South China (continent) rifted away from Gondwana and started to head northward across the shrinking Proto-Tethys Ocean, and on its southern end, the new ocean, Paleo-Tethys Ocean, opening. In the Devonian Period, Gondwana itself headed towards Euramerica, this caused the Rheic Ocean to shrink.
In the Early
Carboniferous, northwest Africa had touched the southeastern coast of Euramerica, creating the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountains, and the
Meseta Mountains. South America moved northward to southern Euramerica, while the eastern portion of Gondwana (India, Antarctica, and Australia) headed towards the South Pole from the
equator.
North China and South China were on independent continents. Kazakhstania microcontinent had collided with
Siberia (continent) (Siberian continent has been a separate continent for millions of years since the deformation of the supercontinent
Pannotia) in the Middle Carboniferous.
Western Kazakhstania collided with Baltica in the Late Carboniferous, closing the Ural Ocean between them, and western Proto-Tethys in them (
Uralian orogeny), causing the formation of the
Ural Mountains, and the formation of the supercontinent of Laurasia. This was the last step of the formation of Pangaea.
Meanwhile, South America had collided with southern Laurentia, closing the
Rheic Ocean, and forming the Southernmost part of the
Appalachians and
Ouachita Mountains. By this time, Gondwana was positioned near the South Pole, and glaciers were forming in Antarctica, India, Australia, and southern Africa and South America. The North China block collided with Siberia by Late Carboniferous time, completely closing Proto-Tethys Ocean.
By Early Permian time, the
Cimmerian plate rifted away from Gondwana and headed towards Laurasia, with a new ocean forming in its southern end, the
Tethys Ocean, and the closure of the
Paleo-Tethys Ocean. Most of the landmasses were all in one. By the Triassic Period, Pangaea rotated a little, towards the southwest direction. The Cimmerian Plate was still travelling across the shrinking Paleo-Tethys, until the Middle Jurassic Time. Paleo-Tethys had closed from west to east, creating the Cimmerian Orogeny. Pangaea looked like a "C", with an ocean inside the "C", the new Tethys Ocean. Pangaea had rifted by the Middle Jurassic, and its deformation is explained below.
Rifting and break-up of Pangaea
There were three major phases in the break-up of Pangaea. The first phase began in the Early Jurassic-
Middle Jurassic, when Pangaea created a rift from the Tethys Ocean in the east and the Pacific in the west. The rifting took place between North America and Africa, the rift produced multiple failed rifts. The rift resulted in a new ocean, the Atlantic Ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean did not open uniformly; rifting began in the North-Central Atlantic. The South Atlantic did not open until the
Cretaceous. Laurasia started to rotate clockwise and moved northward with North America to the north, and
Eurasia to the south. The clockwise motion of Laurasia also led to the closing of the Tethys Ocean. Meanwhile, in the other side of Africa, new rifts were also forming along the adjacent margins of east Africa, Antarctica, and
Madagascar that would lead to the formation of the Southwest Indian Ocean that would also open up in the Cretaceous.
The second, major phase in the break-up of Pangaea began in the Early Cretaceous (150-140 million years ago), when the minor supercontinent of Gondwana separated into four multiple continents (Africa, South America, India and Antarctica/Australia). About 200 million years ago, the continent of Cimmeria plate, as mentioned above ("The Formation of Pangaea"), collided with Eurasia. However, a subduction zone was forming, as soon as Cimmeria collided.
This subduction zone was called the
Tethyan Trench. This trench might have subducted what is called the Tethyan mid-ocean ridge, a ridge responsible for Tethys Ocean's expansion. It probably caused Africa, India and Australia to move northward. In the Early Cretaceous, Atlantica, today's South America and Africa, finally separated from Eastern Gondwana (Antarctica, India, and Australia), causing the opening of a "South Indian Ocean". In the middle Cretaceous, Gondwana fragmented to open up the South Atlantic Ocean as South America started to move westward away from Africa. The South Atlantic did not develop uniformly, rather it rifted from south to north.
Also, at the same time Madagascar and India began to separate from Antarctica and moved northward, opening up the Indian Ocean. Madagascar and India separated from each other 100 - 90 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. India continued to move northward toward Eurasia at 15 centimeters per year (a plate tectonic record), closing the Tethys Ocean, while Madagascar stopped and became locked to the
African Plate. New Zealand and New Caledonia began to move from Australia in an eastward direction towards the
Pacific, opening the
Coral Sea and
Tasman Sea. They have been independent islands since.
The third major and final phase of the break-up of Pangaea occurred in the early
Cenozoic (
Paleocene - Oligocene). North America/
Greenland broke free from Eurasia, opening the
Norwegian Sea about 60-55 million years ago. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans continued to expand, closing the Tethys Ocean.
Meanwhile, Australia split from Antarctica and moved rapidly northward, just as India did more than 40 million years earlier, and is on a collision course with
Eastern Asia. Both Australia and India are currently moving in a northeast direction at 5-6 cm/year. Antarctica has been near or at the South Pole since the formation of Pangaea (since about 280 Ma). India started to collide with
Asia beginning about 35 million years ago, forming the Himalayan orogeny, and also finally closing the Tethys Seaway; this collision continues today. The African Plate started to change directions, from west to northwest toward
Europe, and South America began to move in a northward direction separating it from Antarctica, allowing complete oceanic circulation around Antarctica for the first time, causing a rapid cooling of the continent and allowing
glaciers to form. Other major events took place during the Cenozoic, including the opening of the Gulf of California, the uplift of the Alps, and the opening of the
Sea of Japan. The break-up of Pangaea continues today in the
East Africa Rift; ongoing collisions may indicate the incipient creation of a new
supercontinent.
See also
References
External links
Pangaea or
Pangæa (OED, from παν,
pan, meaning
entire, and γαια,
gaia, meaning
Earth in
Ancient Greek) was the supercontinent that existed during the
Paleozoic and
Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before each of the component continents were separated into their current configuration.
The name was first used by the
German people originator of the continental drift theory, Alfred Wegener, in the 1920 edition of his book
The Origin of Continents and Oceans (Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane), in which a postulated supercontinent Pangaea played a key role.
Configuration of Pangaea
Pangaea is believed to have been a C-shaped landmass that was spread across the
equator. The
body of water that was believed to have been enclosed within the resulting crescent has been named the Tethys Sea. Owing to Pangaea's massive size, the inland regions appear to have been very dry, due to the lack of
Precipitation (meteorology). The large supercontinent would potentially have allowed terrestrial animals to migrate freely all the way from the South Pole to the
North Pole.
The vast ocean that once surrounded the supercontinent of Pangaea has been named
Panthalassa. Pangaea is believed to have broken up about 180 million years ago (
Mya (unit)) in the Jurassic
Period (geology), first into two supercontinents (Gondwana to the
south and
Laurasia to the north), thereafter into the
continents as we understand them today.
Formation of Pangaea
Rodinia, which formed 1.1 billion years ago during the
Proterozoic, was the supercontinent from which all subsequent continents, sub or super, derived. Rodinia does not preclude the possibility of Vaalbara as the breakup and formation of supercontinents appear to be
supercontinent cycle through Earth's 4.6 billion years.
Gondwana followed with several iterations before the formation of Pangaea, which succeeded
Pannotia, before the beginning of the
Paleozoic Era (545 mya) and the
Phanerozoic Eon.
The minor supercontinent of Proto-Laurasia rifted away from Gondwana and moved across the
Panthalassic Ocean. A new ocean was forming between the two continents, the
Proto-Tethys Ocean. Soon, Proto-Laurasia rifted apart itself to create Laurentia,
Siberia (continent) and Baltica. The rifting also spawned two new oceans, the Iapetus Ocean and Khanty Oceans. Baltica remained east of Laurentia, and Siberia sat northeast of Laurentia.
In the Cambrian the independent continent of Laurentia on what would become North America sat on the equator, with three bordering oceans of
Panthalassic Ocean to the north and west and
Iapetus Ocean to the south, and
Khanty Ocean to the east. In the Earliest Ordovician, the microcontinent of Avalonia, a landmass that would become the northeastern
United States,
Nova Scotia, and England, broke free from Gondwana and began its journey to
Laurentia.
Baltica collided with Laurentia by the end of Ordovician, and northern Avalonia collided with Baltica and Laurentia. Laurentia, Baltica, and Avalonia formed to create a minor supercontinent of
Euramerica or Laurussia, closing the Iapetus Ocean, while the Rheic Ocean expanded in the southern coast of Avalonia. The collision also resulted in the formation of the Northern Appalachians.
Siberia (continent) sat near Euramerica, with Khanty Ocean between the two continents. While all this was happening, Gondwana drifted slowly towards the South Pole. This was the first step of the formation of Pangaea.
The second step in the formation of Pangaea was the collision of Gondwana with Euramerica. By
Silurian time, Baltica had already collided with Laurentia to form Euramerica.
Avalonia hadn't collided with
Laurentia yet, and a seaway between them was a remnant of
Iapetus Ocean was still shrinking as Avalonia slowly inches towards Laurentia.
Meanwhile,
southern Europe fragmented from Gondwana and started to head towards Euramerica across the newly formed Rheic Ocean and collided with southern Baltica in the Devonian, though this microcontinent was an underwater plate. Iapetus Ocean's sister ocean, Khanty Ocean, was also shrinking as an island arc from Siberia collided with eastern Baltica (now part of Euramerica). Behind this
island arc was a new ocean,
Ural Ocean.
By late Silurian time,
North China (continent) and
South China (continent) rifted away from Gondwana and started to head northward across the shrinking Proto-Tethys Ocean, and on its southern end, the new ocean, Paleo-Tethys Ocean, opening. In the Devonian Period, Gondwana itself headed towards Euramerica, this caused the Rheic Ocean to shrink.
In the Early
Carboniferous, northwest Africa had touched the southeastern coast of
Euramerica, creating the southern portion of the
Appalachian Mountains, and the Meseta Mountains. South America moved northward to southern Euramerica, while the eastern portion of Gondwana (India,
Antarctica, and Australia) headed towards the South Pole from the
equator.
North China and South China were on independent continents.
Kazakhstania microcontinent had collided with Siberia (continent) (Siberian continent has been a separate continent for millions of years since the deformation of the supercontinent Pannotia) in the Middle Carboniferous.
Western Kazakhstania collided with
Baltica in the Late Carboniferous, closing the Ural Ocean between them, and western Proto-Tethys in them (Uralian orogeny), causing the formation of the
Ural Mountains, and the formation of the supercontinent of Laurasia. This was the last step of the formation of Pangaea.
Meanwhile, South America had collided with southern
Laurentia, closing the Rheic Ocean, and forming the Southernmost part of the Appalachians and Ouachita Mountains. By this time, Gondwana was positioned near the South Pole, and glaciers were forming in Antarctica, India, Australia, and southern Africa and South America. The
North China block collided with
Siberia by Late Carboniferous time, completely closing Proto-Tethys Ocean.
By Early
Permian time, the Cimmerian plate rifted away from Gondwana and headed towards Laurasia, with a new ocean forming in its southern end, the Tethys Ocean, and the closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. Most of the landmasses were all in one. By the
Triassic Period, Pangaea rotated a little, towards the southwest direction. The Cimmerian Plate was still travelling across the shrinking Paleo-Tethys, until the Middle Jurassic Time. Paleo-Tethys had closed from west to east, creating the Cimmerian Orogeny. Pangaea looked like a "C", with an ocean inside the "C", the new Tethys Ocean. Pangaea had rifted by the Middle Jurassic, and its deformation is explained below.
Rifting and break-up of Pangaea
There were three major phases in the break-up of Pangaea. The first phase began in the Early Jurassic-Middle Jurassic, when Pangaea created a rift from the Tethys Ocean in the east and the Pacific in the west. The rifting took place between North America and Africa, the rift produced multiple failed rifts. The rift resulted in a new ocean, the Atlantic Ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean did not open uniformly; rifting began in the North-Central Atlantic. The South Atlantic did not open until the
Cretaceous. Laurasia started to rotate clockwise and moved northward with North America to the north, and Eurasia to the south. The clockwise motion of Laurasia also led to the closing of the Tethys Ocean. Meanwhile, in the other side of Africa, new rifts were also forming along the adjacent margins of east Africa, Antarctica, and
Madagascar that would lead to the formation of the Southwest Indian Ocean that would also open up in the Cretaceous.
The second, major phase in the break-up of Pangaea began in the
Early Cretaceous (150-140 million years ago), when the minor supercontinent of Gondwana separated into four multiple continents (Africa, South America, India and Antarctica/Australia). About 200 million years ago, the continent of Cimmeria plate, as mentioned above ("The Formation of Pangaea"), collided with Eurasia. However, a subduction zone was forming, as soon as Cimmeria collided.
This subduction zone was called the Tethyan Trench. This trench might have subducted what is called the Tethyan
mid-ocean ridge, a ridge responsible for Tethys Ocean's expansion. It probably caused Africa, India and Australia to move northward. In the Early Cretaceous,
Atlantica, today's South America and Africa, finally separated from Eastern Gondwana (Antarctica, India, and Australia), causing the opening of a "South Indian Ocean". In the middle Cretaceous, Gondwana fragmented to open up the South Atlantic Ocean as South America started to move westward away from Africa. The South Atlantic did not develop uniformly, rather it rifted from south to north.
Also, at the same time Madagascar and India began to separate from Antarctica and moved northward, opening up the Indian Ocean. Madagascar and India separated from each other 100 - 90 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. India continued to move northward toward Eurasia at 15 centimeters per year (a plate tectonic record), closing the Tethys Ocean, while Madagascar stopped and became locked to the African Plate. New Zealand and New Caledonia began to move from Australia in an eastward direction towards the Pacific, opening the
Coral Sea and
Tasman Sea. They have been independent islands since.
The third major and final phase of the break-up of Pangaea occurred in the early
Cenozoic (
Paleocene - Oligocene). North America/
Greenland broke free from Eurasia, opening the
Norwegian Sea about 60-55 million years ago. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans continued to expand, closing the Tethys Ocean.
Meanwhile, Australia split from Antarctica and moved rapidly northward, just as India did more than 40 million years earlier, and is on a collision course with
Eastern Asia. Both Australia and India are currently moving in a northeast direction at 5-6 cm/year. Antarctica has been near or at the South Pole since the formation of Pangaea (since about 280 Ma). India started to collide with Asia beginning about 35 million years ago, forming the Himalayan orogeny, and also finally closing the
Tethys Seaway; this collision continues today. The African Plate started to change directions, from west to northwest toward
Europe, and South America began to move in a northward direction separating it from Antarctica, allowing complete oceanic circulation around Antarctica for the first time, causing a rapid cooling of the continent and allowing glaciers to form. Other major events took place during the Cenozoic, including the opening of the Gulf of California, the uplift of the
Alps, and the opening of the
Sea of Japan. The break-up of Pangaea continues today in the
East Africa Rift; ongoing collisions may indicate the incipient creation of a new
supercontinent.
See also
References
External links
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