Pangea: An ancient supercontinent that existed before the other 7 were discovered
The history of our planet is quite a fascinating one. Over the course of thousands of years, it has been through significant changes, from the extinction of dinosaurs to today’s concerning climate change crisis. One of the lesser-known historical facts of Earth is that initially, around 300 million years ago, there were not 7 continents in existence, but just one! That’s right: The landforms comprising the continents of Asia, Africa, North America, South America Antarctica, Oceania and Europe actually came into existence later on. Before them, an ancient supercontinent called Pangea was the sole continent on earth, surround by a single ocean named Panthalassa. But what exactly was this continent and how was it formed? Read on to learn more.
Who came up with the idea of Pangea?
One of the most seminal climatologists and geophysicists of his time, Germany’s Alfred Wegener proposed the theory of continental drift around a century ago. After putting together several lines of corroborating existence, he acquainted the world with the notion of Pangea, also spelt as Pangaea, an ancient supercontinent. According to him, the seven continents of the world that we know today, existed in one single landmass, Pangea. The name ‘Pangea’ is derived from ancient Greek and means ‘all lands’ or ‘all the Earth.’ This landmass, through his study, had consequently broken down into several different ones due to a series of geographical evolutionary factors. The theory believes that there was a large-scale displacement of continents. Thus, Pangea fragmented and the parts gradually moved away from each other. Moreover, he found a striking similarity between the coastlines of eastern South America and western Africa. Moreover, after studying an enormous amount of scientific and palaeontological evidence, he pointed out towards an overwhelming number of closely related fossil organisms and rock strata that surprisingly existed on widely separated continents.
The emergence of the theory of plate tectonics
Wegener’s unprecedented theory of continental drift was not well-received in the scientific community. In fact, it was ridiculed by many. It was only decades later, in the 60s, when the idea of a continental drift resurfaced. Researchers of the time built upon Wegener’s seemingly wacky idea of the time, and actually found more concrete evidence in support of it and proposed the theory of plate tectonics. Although slightly different, Wegener’s initial theory formed the fundamental base of this new one. The plate tectonic theory suggested that the Earth’s crust is segmented into 20 sections referred to as tectonic plates. When these plates are pressed together and the consequently move away, earthquakes occur as enormous energy is released. This also explains why earthquakes occur only in certain geographical areas of the planet- mostly around the boundaries of these plates. This theory is more widely accepted because it thoroughly explains why the continents were displace- a factor that was lacking in Wegener’s mostly notional theory.