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Gondwana ( / ɡɒndˈwɑːnə /) [1] was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Zealandia, Arabia, and the Indian Subcontinent. Gondwana was formed by the accretion of several cratons ...
Continent Fused with the Yangtze block to form the South China Craton during the Early Paleozoic. [11] Cimmeria: 300 Late Carboniferous–Early Permian Continent Rifted off margin of Gondwana, opening up Neotethys, collided with Laurasia about 150 Ma in the Cimmerian Orogeny. Regarded as being made up of many separate continental fragments. [12]
The second major phase in the break-up of Pangaea began in the Early Cretaceous (150–140 Ma), when Gondwana separated into multiple continents (Africa, South America, India, Antarctica, and Australia). The subduction at Tethyan Trench probably caused Africa, India and Australia to move northward, causing the opening of a "South Indian Ocean".
Gondwana broke up in distinct stages. The continent started to split during the Jurassic Period around 180 million years ago. The first event was the separation of the western half of Gondwana, which includes Africa and South America, from the eastern half, which includes Antarctica, Australia, Madagascar, and India.
Rodinia (from the Russian родина, rodina, meaning "motherland, birthplace" [1][2][3]) was a Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic supercontinent that assembled 1.26–0.90 billion years ago (Ga) [4] and broke up 750–633 million years ago (Ma). [5] Valentine & Moores 1970 were probably the first to recognise a Precambrian supercontinent ...
In geology, a supercontinent is the assembly of most or all of Earth 's continental blocks or cratons to form a single large landmass. [1][2][3] However, some geologists use a different definition, "a grouping of formerly dispersed continents", which leaves room for interpretation and is easier to apply to Precambrian times. [4]
References: Rubidge (2005), [1] Selden and Nudds (2011). [2] The Karoo Supergroup is the most widespread stratigraphic unit in Africa south of the Kalahari Desert. The supergroup consists of a sequence of units, mostly of nonmarine origin, deposited between the Late Carboniferous and Early Jurassic, a period of about 120 million years. [3]
1 Relative to the African Plate. The Indian Plate (or India Plate) is a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, the Indian Plate broke away from the other fragments of Gondwana 100 million years ago and began moving north, carrying Insular India with it. [2]