Pangaea Formation Quiz

Pangaea Formation

• The supercontinent Pangaea formed during the Paleozoic era, specifically in the Permian period, roughly 335 to 250 million years ago.
• The single ocean that surrounded Pangaea was called Panthalassa.

Continental Drift & Pangaea's Breakup

• Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift in 1912.
• The breaking up of Pangaea was caused by the forces of plate tectonics, specifically the movement of Earth's tectonic plates.
• The collision of Europe and Asia during Pangaea's formation created the Ural Mountains.

Evidence of Pangaea

• Before Wegener's theory, the prevailing explanation for similar fossils on different continents was that land bridges had once connected them.
• Evidence supporting the existence of Pangaea includes:
  • Matching rock strata patterns on different continents.
  • The distribution of fossil species across various continents.
  • The discovery of tropical plant fossils in Antarctica, implying a different climate for the continent in the past.
• The distribution of fossil species across different continents suggests that the continents were once joined together.
• Matching rock strata patterns on different continents indicate a shared geological history.
• The discovery of tropical plant fossils in Antarctica suggests that the continent was once located in a warmer region.

Pangaea's Significance & Details

• The word Pangaea literally means “all Earth.”
• Gondwana, one of the two main parts of Pangaea, began to break apart approximately 180 million years ago.
• Wegener's observations of the apparent fit of the continents and the distribution of similar fossils across different continents led him to propose the existence of a supercontinent millions of years ago.
• The Tethys Sea formed between Laurasia and Gondwana, the two main parts of Pangaea.
• Pangaea broke apart approximately 200 million years ago due to the movement of tectonic plates.

Test your knowledge about Pangaea, the supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic to late Triassic era, approximately 280 - 230 million years ago. Explore how the modern continents were once interconnected as part of this massive landmass.