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Pangaea

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Map showing the ancient supercontinent Pangaea as it existed 200 million years ago.

Pangaea

A very long time ago, there was a giant land called Pangaea. It was a supercontinent that had all the land together. Pangaea looked like a big C shape. Lands we know today, like North America, South America, Europe, and Africa, were all part of Pangaea.

About 335 million years ago, these lands came together to form Pangaea. But about 200 million years ago, it started to break apart. This is why today we have many separate continents.

A scientist named Alfred Wegener noticed that the coastlines of some continents look like puzzle pieces that fit together. He thought they were once joined. His idea helped people understand that Earth’s lands can move very slowly.

Pangaea had two big parts: Gondwana in the south and Laurussia in the northwest. A huge ocean called Panthalassa surrounded it. The shape and movement of Pangaea changed the weather and oceans around it.

When Pangaea broke apart, it made new oceans like the Atlantic Ocean. The way it split helped shape the world we live in today. Scientists study rocks and fossils to learn more about Pangaea and how Earth has changed over millions of years.

Images

An ancient map showing how continents were connected long ago during the time of Pangaea.
A map showing Earth as it looked 250 million years ago during the time of the supercontinent Pangea.
Portrait of Prof. Alfred Wegener, a scientist known for his theory of continental drift.
A map showing how the Earth's continents may have once been joined together as a single supercontinent called Pangaea, according to scientist Alfred Wegener.
An ancient map showing how Earth looked 390 million years ago during the Eifelian Age.
A map showing how the Earth's continents were positioned about 490 million years ago during the formation of the supercontinent Pangaea.
A map showing where the continents were located 430 million years ago during the formation of Pangaea.
A map showing how the continents were positioned around 310 million years ago during the late Carboniferous period.
A map showing how the continents were positioned about 250 million years ago during the time of the supercontinent Pangea.
A map showing where the continents were located about 302 million years ago during the late Carboniferous period.
A scientific illustration showing how the ancient supercontinent Pangea may have been arranged in two different ways.
An ancient map showing Earth from 285 million years ago during the Artinskian Age.
A diagram showing how the Appalachian Mountains formed from ancient collisions between continents.

Related articles

Supercontinent
North America
South America
Africa
Alfred Wegener
Gondwana

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Pangaea, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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