Pangea Is Only the Latest of Many Past Supercontinents

Look at a world map today, and the continents appear like pieces belonging to an ancient puzzle long disassembled — and that’s basically true. Starting some 200 million years ago, the supercontinent known as Pangea (surrounded by a global ocean called Panthalassa) began to break apart until this slow but steady dance concluded with the seven distinct continents we know today. However, Pangea is really only the latest supercontinent in Earth’s history. In fact, the Earth’s landmasses have been crashing into one another, separating, and crashing into one another again basically since the Earth’s formation. Previous supercontinents includeGondwana and Laurasia, which actually collided to form Pangea in the first place, as well as Pannotia, Rodinia, and Nuna, to name only a few. Just as Pangea isn’t the only supercontinent in Earth’s history, it also won’t be the last. In 200 million years, the Earth will form a new supercontinent, which scientists call Amasia (a portmanteau of America and Asia) as the Pacific Ocean continues to shrink about an inch every year, making the slow continental collision inevitable.