Pangaea, also spelled Pangea, was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, incorporating almost all of Earth's landmasses
. It was first proposed by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912 as a part of his theory of continental drift
. The concept of Pangaea is derived from the Greek word "pangaia," meaning "all the Earth"
. Key aspects of Pangaea include:
- Formation : Pangaea assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica, and Siberia during the Carboniferous, approximately 335 million years ago
- Breakup : Pangaea began to break apart about 200 million years ago, at the end of the Triassic and beginning of the Jurassic
. The supercontinent did not break apart all at once but rather disintegrated over time, eventually forming the modern continents and the Atlantic and Indian oceans
- Location : In contrast to the present Earth and its distribution of continental mass, Pangaea was centered on the equator and surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa and the Paleo-Tethys
The study of Pangaea is important for understanding Earth's geological history, as it provides insights into past climates, the formation of mountain ranges, and the evolution of life on the planet
