What was Pangaea?
Quick answer
Pangaea was a supercontinent that joined almost all of Earth’s land into one giant landmass about 300 million years ago. It formed around 335 million years ago and began breaking apart about 200–175 million years ago, slowly creating today’s continents. The name means “all the land” in Greek.
A world with one continent
Pangaea was surrounded by a single vast ocean called Panthalassa (“all the sea”). Because so much land was far from the sea, its interior was likely very dry, with huge deserts. The first dinosaurs appeared while Pangaea was still together.
How it broke apart
- ~335 million years agoPangaea forms as earlier continents collide
- ~200 million years agoRifting begins; the Atlantic Ocean starts to open
- ~175 million years agoPangaea splits into Laurasia (north) and Gondwana (south)
- ~150–65 million years agoGondwana breaks into Africa, South America, Antarctica, India and Australia
- TodayThe continents are still moving a few centimeters a year
Clues that it existed
| Evidence | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Matching coastlines | South America and Africa fit together like puzzle pieces |
| Matching fossils | The same land animals, such as Mesosaurus, found on continents now separated by oceans |
| Matching rocks and mountains | Mountain ranges that line up across continents |
| Glacier scratches | Ice-age marks in places now near the equator |
Wegener’s idea
German scientist Alfred Wegener proposed continental drift in 1912. Many scientists rejected it because he couldn’t explain how continents moved. In the 1960s, the discovery of seafloor spreading led to the theory of plate tectonics, proving him largely right.
Future supercontinents
Continents keep moving. Scientists predict they’ll collide again in about 200–250 million years, forming a new supercontinent, sometimes nicknamed Pangaea Ultima or Amasia.
Plate movements also created deep places like the Mariana Trench and young seas like the Red Sea. Earthquakes happen along plate edges; see what seismology is.
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