Browsing: Pangea

Pangea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, assembling around 300 million years ago and beginning to break apart about 175 million years ago. It was formed by the collision of earlier continental landmasses and encompassed virtually all of the Earth’s land area at that time. The name “Pangea” originates from Ancient Greek, meaning “all lands,” reflecting the way it brought together most of the Earth’s continents into a singular, massive landform. The breakup of Pangea led to the formation of the continents as we know them today and had profound effects on the geological, climatological, and biological evolution of the planet. The movement of the continents from Pangea’s breakup to their current positions is a key element of the theory of plate tectonics, which describes the large-scale motion of Earth’s lithosphere.