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Gondwana (/ ɡ ɒ n d ˈ w ɑː n ə /) [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.
Avalonia is the largest of the peri-Gondwanan terranes, a series of continental blocks that more or less simultaneously broke off the margins of the southern supercontinent Gondwana and therefore share an early Paleozoic marine fauna. They were pulled northward and eventually collided to form the Appalachian, Caledonide, and Variscan orogens ...
The South Polar region of the Cretaceous comprised the continent of East Gondwana–modern day Australia, Zealandia, and Antarctica–a product of the break-up of Gondwana in the Cretaceous Period. The southern region, during this time, was much warmer than it is today, ranging from perhaps 4–8 °C (39–46 °F) in the latest Cretaceous ...
In the Neoproterozoic most of the Earth's landmasses were united in the Rodinia supercontinent.The majority of its bulk consisted of the landmass of Gondwana. [Note 1] Near the end of the Neoproterozoic, during the breakup of this supercontinent, Laurentia [Note 2] and Baltica [Note 3] rifted from the western (Amazonian craton) and northern (African) margins of Gondwana respectively.
Other blocks that now form part of southwestern Europe and North America from New England to Florida were still attached to the African-South American margin of Gondwana. [17] This northward drift of terranes across the Tethys Ocean also included the Hunic terranes , now spread from Europe to China.
Location of the Hercynian-Alleghenian mountain belts in the middle of the Carboniferous period.Present day coastlines are indicated in grey for reference. [1]The Variscan orogeny, or Hercynian orogeny, was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.
Five hundred million years ago, in the Ordovician period, southern Great Britain, the east coast of North America and south-east Newfoundland broke away from Gondwana to form the continent of Avalonia, which by 440 Ma had drifted (by the mechanisms of plate tectonics) to about 30° south. During this period, north Wales was subject to volcanic ...
The southern part is the product of a continental collision during which it was thrusted onto the Congo Craton. The central and northern parts are thrust-and-shear zones correlated with similar structures in Brazil. The belts in Central Africa continue east as the Oubanguide Belt with which they form the Central African Shear Zone. [15]