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Vaalbara is a hypothetical Archean supercontinent consisting of the Kaapvaal Craton (now in eastern South Africa) and the Pilbara Craton (now in north-western Western Australia). E. S. Cheney derived the name from the last four letters of each craton's name.
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 ]
The Kaapvaal Craton covers an area of approximately 1,200,000 km 2 (460,000 sq mi) and is joined to the Zimbabwe Craton to the north by the Limpopo Belt.To the south and west, the Kaapvaal Craton is flanked by Proterozoic orogens, and to the east by the Lebombo monocline that contains Jurassic igneous rocks associated with the break-up of Gondwana.
Map of Pangaea with modern continental outlines. The supercontinent cycle is the quasi-periodic aggregation and dispersal of Earth's continental crust.There are varying opinions as to whether the amount of continental crust is increasing, decreasing, or staying about the same, but it is agreed that the Earth's crust is constantly being reconfigured.
Vaalbara was the first supercontinent. [2] Europe is the newest continent. [ 3 ] Geologists have predicted that certain continents will appear, these being Pangaea Proxima , Novopangaea , Aurica , and Amasia .
Pannotia – Hypothesized Neoproterozoic supercontinent; Rodinia – Hypothetical Neoproterozoic supercontinent; Ur (continent) – Hypothetical Archaean supercontinent from about 3.1 billion years ago; Vaalbara – Archaean supercontinent from about 3.6 to 2.7 billion years ago
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A map of the Barberton Greenstone Belt in southern Africa. Similarities between the Barberton Greenstone Belt in the Kaapvaal Craton and the eastern part of the Pilbara Craton indicate that the two formations were once joined as part of the supercontinent Vaalbara , one of Earth's earliest supercontinents . [ 3 ]