🌍 PANGAEA: ONE GIANT CONTINENT
PAGE 1 OF 5 — THE SINGLE WORLD
335 MILLION YEARS AGO
ONE WORLD
Imagine standing in what is now London and walking — without swimming — to Antarctica. Or from Africa to Brazil. 335 million years ago you could. All of Earth's land was fused into a single vast supercontinent. Scientists call it Pangaea — Greek for "All Earth."
ONE!
THE PUZZLE PIECES
🧷 South America's east coast fits Africa's west coast
🌍 The fit is so perfect it cannot be coincidence
📍 Alfred Wegener first proposed this in 1912
💡 He was laughed at — for 40 years
🌍 The fit is so perfect it cannot be coincidence
📍 Alfred Wegener first proposed this in 1912
💡 He was laughed at — for 40 years
The same fossils. The same rock types. Found on opposite sides of an ocean. The evidence was hiding in plain sight for centuries.
"The continents MOVED."
PAGE 2 OF 5 — THE EVIDENCE
THE PROOF
HOW WE KNOW PANGAEA WAS REAL
Three completely separate lines of evidence — fossils, rocks, and the shape of the continents themselves — all point to the same conclusion. Pangaea was real. The continents were once one. And they are still moving today — at the speed your fingernails grow.
ROCK EVIDENCE
🪨 Identical rock formations on opposite continents
📍 The Appalachian Mountains (USA) match the Scottish Highlands exactly
🪨 Same ancient mountain chains — split apart by the Atlantic
👁 They were once one single mountain range
📍 The Appalachian Mountains (USA) match the Scottish Highlands exactly
🪨 Same ancient mountain chains — split apart by the Atlantic
👁 They were once one single mountain range
FOSSIL EVIDENCE
🦎 Mesosaurus: a freshwater reptile found in both Brazil AND South Africa
❓ It could NOT swim the Atlantic
💡 Therefore: those continents were once joined
📅 Lived: ~280 million years ago
❓ It could NOT swim the Atlantic
💡 Therefore: those continents were once joined
📅 Lived: ~280 million years ago
PLANT EVIDENCE
🌿 Glossopteris: a seed fern found on 5 separate continents
🌍 Found in Antarctica, India, Africa, Australia, South America
💡 Seeds too heavy to blow across oceans
🨀 The continents were once all joined in the south
🌍 Found in Antarctica, India, Africa, Australia, South America
💡 Seeds too heavy to blow across oceans
🨀 The continents were once all joined in the south
PAGE 3 OF 5 — THE BREAKUP
THE STAGES
📅 335 Ma: Pangaea fully formed
📅 200 Ma: First rift — Laurasia splits from Gondwana
📅 150 Ma: Atlantic Ocean begins to open
📅 80 Ma: India breaks free — racing toward Asia
📅 200 Ma: First rift — Laurasia splits from Gondwana
📅 150 Ma: Atlantic Ocean begins to open
📅 80 Ma: India breaks free — racing toward Asia
PLATE TECTONICS
🌋 The mantle beneath the crust is molten rock
Heat from Earth's core drives convection — giant circular currents that drag the surface plates apart. At 2–3 cm per year.
Heat from Earth's core drives convection — giant circular currents that drag the surface plates apart. At 2–3 cm per year.
201 MILLION YEARS AGO
THE GREAT TEARING
When Pangaea tore apart, it didn't happen quietly. Massive rift valleys opened up — cracks in the Earth kilometres deep. Lava poured through the cracks for millions of years. The same volcanic eruptions that triggered the end-Triassic extinction were the birth pangs of the Atlantic Ocean.
CRACK!
PAGE 4 OF 5 — TWO WORLDS
150 MILLION YEARS AGO
TWO SUPERCONTINENTS
Pangaea didn't break into today's seven continents in one go. First it split into two giant landmasses — Laurasia in the north (which became North America, Europe, and Asia) and Gondwana in the south (which became South America, Africa, India, Australia, and Antarctica). The Tethys Sea lay between them.
LAURASIA — NORTH
🌎 Became: North America, Europe, Asia
🦘 Home to: T-Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus
🌋 Climate: Temperate and subtropical
📍 Name: LAURentian + eurASIA
🦘 Home to: T-Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus
🌋 Climate: Temperate and subtropical
📍 Name: LAURentian + eurASIA
GONDWANA — SOUTH
🌎 Became: South America, Africa, India, Australia, Antarctica
🦘 Home to: Eoraptor, Argentinosaurus, Spinosaurus
🌡️ Climate: Tropical to polar
📍 Named after Gondwana region, India
🦘 Home to: Eoraptor, Argentinosaurus, Spinosaurus
🌡️ Climate: Tropical to polar
📍 Named after Gondwana region, India
DINO DISTRIBUTION
✅ Related dinosaur species found on opposite continents
❓ How? They walked there — when the land was joined
🨀 After the split: evolution went in separate directions
🌟 Each continent developed its own unique fauna
❓ How? They walked there — when the land was joined
🨀 After the split: evolution went in separate directions
🌟 Each continent developed its own unique fauna
PAGE 5 OF 5 — THE WORLD WE LIVE ON
TODAY AND TOMORROW
STILL MOVING
The continents never stopped moving. Right now, Africa is slowly colliding with Europe — building the Alps higher every year. Australia is drifting northward toward Asia. The Atlantic Ocean is widening by 2.5cm every year. In 250 million years, the continents may reassemble into a new supercontinent — sometimes called Pangaea Ultima.
DRIFT...
THE ATLANTIC IS BORN
🌊 Atlantic Ocean: started ~180 Ma as a narrow rift
🏧 Now: 7,000 km wide at its widest point
🪤 Widening by 2.5 cm per year — still growing
🌟 In 180 Ma it was a puddle — now it's an ocean
🏧 Now: 7,000 km wide at its widest point
🪤 Widening by 2.5 cm per year — still growing
🌟 In 180 Ma it was a puddle — now it's an ocean
KEY TAKEAWAYS
📌 REMEMBER THIS
✦ Pangaea formed ~335 Ma, broke apart ~200 Ma
✦ Evidence: matching fossils, rocks, and coastlines
✦ Split into Laurasia (north) and Gondwana (south)
✦ Continents still move today — 2–3 cm per year
✦ Evidence: matching fossils, rocks, and coastlines
✦ Split into Laurasia (north) and Gondwana (south)
✦ Continents still move today — 2–3 cm per year
🧠 QUIZ TIME!
PANGAEA: ONE GIANT CONTINENT · 5 QUESTIONS
QUESTION 01
What exactly was Pangaea, and what does the name mean?
QUESTION 02
Which fossil creature provides the strongest proof that South America and Africa were once connected?
QUESTION 03
What force drives the movement of tectonic plates that split Pangaea apart?
QUESTION 04
When Pangaea first split in two, what were the names of the two resulting supercontinents?
QUESTION 05
Why do scientists find closely related dinosaur species on continents that are now separated by thousands of kilometres of ocean?
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