In short, Pangea was the supercontinent that contained the entire landmass of the Earth. The word Pangea comes from the Greek words pan, Meaning "All", and -gea, Meaning "Earth".
Here we tell you a little about its origin, and about alfred wegener, who advocated its existence; he theorized about their formation and separation in 1912.
Pangea and its characteristics
Pangea is the name of the Earth's first large supercontinent. Pangea is pronounced phangea in Greek and translates to "everything" and "earth." Its name was coined by Alfred Wegener in 1912, who was the main promoter of the Theory of continental drift.
The original shape of Pangea is believed to have been a 'U' or 'C' shaped land mass located on the equator. Due to Pangea's enormous size, the inner regions of the earth were assumed to be arid due to lack of moisture. The animals that lived on the supercontinent could freely travel between the extremes without barriers.
Pangea had a concave part, called Tethys Sea, which housed a smaller sea. In addition to panthalassa, the only sea surrounding Pangea, the huge landmass was surrounded by desert due to lack of moisture. This was because most of Pangea's continental interior did not have easy access to moisture from the ocean.
How was Pangea formed? And how was it divided?
It was formed by the joint movement of tectonic plates 335 million years during the Paleozoic era. At the time, most of the planet's landmass was included in Pangea. It subsequently broke apart 175 million years later, with parts breaking apart and new continents forming. This process continued until many of today's major landmasses were formed, a process that continues today.
According to geological, biological and physical records, the earth's crust solidified 4 million years ago. Since then, many significant geological changes have occurred, allowing a broad perspective of the events that took place up to the formation of Pangea. About 700 million years ago, at the end of the Precambrian period, There were two paleocontinents on the planet. called Baikalia y Pan African. Eventually, they combined to form the single continent Pangea approximately 500 years before Christ. Around 400 years before Christ, Europe and North America were connected as a single landmass.
The landmass known as Gondwana formed almost 230 million years ago and included most countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, and India. It also contained Europe and North America at the time. All these continents were joined in an almost identical way. Some minor changes have been made since then due to later orogenic processes. Pangea of the Mesozoic era divided into four stages 65 million years ago, according to the references.
What happened to the division of Pangea?
The Atlantic Ocean was formed between Africa and North America when the landmass split between Laurasia and Gondwana.. Subsequent divisions between North America and South America resulted in additional oceanic expansion. The separation of Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and South America from India occurred when the Gondwana supercontinent broke up. At the same time, North India was breaking away from South India. This was caused by the various ruptures and movements in the continents belonging to Gondwana.
As Africa moved north, the Mediterranean Sea was formed. This also caused the closure of the eastern end of the Tethys Sea. At the same time, South America and Africa broke apart, reducing the size of the Tethys Sea. At the end of the era, Greenland was separated from Europe and became a separate land mass. Africa and South America had drifted apart, as had Australia and Antarctica. India was almost halfway to the equator; had separated from South America. North America also separated from Europe.
Who proved its existence?
alfred wegener was german meteorologist who collected data from different scientific fields to support his theory of continental drift. He published the results of it in a book in 1915, causing an earthquake-like jolt to the foundations of Earth science. Many people considered his theory to be highly controversial at the time.
Looking at an atlas in 1910, Wegener considered the possibility that the shapes of the continents fit together by coincidence. Later concluded that they fit together to form a single primordial supercontinent known as Pangea, which is the Greek word for 'the whole Earth'. Supposedly, the solid landmass of Pangea broke off into present-day continents about 250 to 200 million years.
The idea behind the thesis is related to the three fields of science: biology, paleontology and geology. Explained the relationship between species on continents separated by oceans; it also matched mesosaur fossils found in South Africa and Brazil. The thesis also substantiated similar geological formations found on different continents, suggesting that the Cape Fold Belt of the Western Cape of South Africa had previously been connected to the Sierra de la Ventana in Argentina.
Leading scientists strongly opposed Wegener's theory because it did not suggest what specific force caused the continents to drift.. Wegener admitted that these criticisms were fair; he wrote in 1929 that 'Newton's theory of continental drift' had not yet been born. It took another 30 years after Wegener's death, at age 50, for his theory to become official. This is the year that the geophysical community confirmed the drift of the continents through plate tectonics.
What was life like on Pangea?
The climate was warm and life was completely different from what we know today. reptiles like Shringasaurus indicus, better known as the allokotosaurus, lived in what is now India and was characterized by having two frontal horns and a body length of between 3 and 4 meters. The first beetles and cicadas also appeared, and many reptiles flourished in the early Triassic. It is also believed that there were Dinosaurs in Pangea, they might have been the first to walk the earth.
I hope this information about Pangea has been useful to you.