The Fascinating Mystery of Pangaea, the Supercontinent that Once Covered One-Third of the Earth

Pangaea, meaning “all lands” in Greek, was a supercontinent that existed during the Mesozoic Era of the Paleozoic Era before the continental drift process separated it into different continents. The term first appeared in the early 20th century when Alfred Wegener noticed that the continents on Earth seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. He proposed the theory of continental drift to explain the shape and position of the continents and used the term “Pangaea” for the first time at a specialized conference in 1927. Over time, this theory developed into the modern theory of plate tectonics.

In Chinese, Pangaea is called “Bàn cổ đại lục,” a name derived from an ancient Chinese myth. The story tells of Bàn Cổ, who created the universe and all things. In the initial chaos, Bàn Cổ used a giant axe to separate the sky and the earth. As time passed, different parts of his body transformed into various aspects of the world, such as his breath becoming the wind, his voice becoming thunder, his left eye becoming the Sun, and his right eye becoming the Moon. His limbs and body became the four corners and the center of the Earth.

The formation of Pangaea is the result of millions of years of continental formation and movement. Millions of years ago, convection currents in the Earth’s mantle caused new material to appear on the surface in the rift zones between tectonic plates. When this new material appeared, it pushed the continents away from the rift. Eventually, the continents collided and merged into a supercontinent, giving birth to Pangaea.

After numerous shifts and collisions, about 300 million years ago, the ancient northwestern region of Gondwana (near the South Pole) collided with southern Europe and America, forming a massive continent. Eventually, Angalan (near the North Pole) started moving southward and merged with the developing continents of Europe and America, forming the later supercontinent called Pangaea. This process ended approximately 270 million years ago.

There was also a continent, Cathay, which includes northern and southern China, that was never part of the supercontinent. Once fully formed, Pangaea covered about one-third of the Earth’s surface, with another massive ocean called Panthalassa surrounding it.

Around 200 million years ago, Pangaea began to break apart, a process similar to its formation, involving the movement of tectonic plates activated by convection currents. Just as Pangaea formed when new material moved away from the rift zones, the appearance of new material also contributed to the breakup of the supercontinent. Scientists believe that the starting point for the eventual breakup of Pangaea was a weak area in the Earth’s crust. In this area, magma rose to the surface, creating volcanic rift zones. Over time, these rift zones expanded into massive basins, initiating the breakup of Pangaea.

As Panthalassa invaded newly formed landmasses, different oceans began to form. The first ocean to form was the Atlantic Ocean. Around 180 million years ago, part of the Atlantic Ocean began to form between North America and Northwest Africa. The Southern Atlantic Ocean formed about 140 million years ago when the southwestern part of South America and Africa began to separate.

When India separated from Antarctica and Australia, the Indian Ocean emerged. Around 80 million years ago, North America and Europe, Australia and Antarctica, India and Madagascar, along with other landmasses, began to break apart. Over millions of years, these continents shifted to their current positions.

Although not everyone believes that Pangaea once existed, many experts support this hypothesis with various pieces of evidence. One of the most convincing pieces of evidence is how the continents fit together. Another piece of evidence for Pangaea’s existence includes the distribution of fossils, the unique patterns in rock formations worldwide, and the global distribution of coal.

The shape of the continents fitting together
As Alfred Wegener observed in the early 20th century, the continents on Earth look like puzzle pieces that fit together. This is one of the most important pieces of evidence for Pangaea’s existence. Clear examples can be seen between the northwest coast of Africa and the eastern coast of South America. In these places, the continents appear as though they were connected at some point in the past, and many believe this occurred during the time of Pangaea.

Distribution of fossils
Archaeologists have discovered remnants of ancient land-dwelling fossils and freshwater species on continents that are now thousands of miles apart across the oceans. For example, similar freshwater reptile fossils have been found in both Africa and South America. Since these non-marine creatures could not cross the Atlantic Ocean, their fossils provide evidence that these continents were once connected.

Rock patterns
Geologists have found unique rock patterns on distant continents. The structures along the coasts were first thought to be clues to how the continents fit together like a puzzle several years ago, and geologists later confirmed the existence of Pangaea. They discovered that even the rock formations on the continents appeared to fit perfectly, indicating that the continents were undoubtedly separated since the presence of identical rock layers could not be a random coincidence.

Coal distribution
The global distribution of coal is also evidence of Pangaea’s existence, similar to the distribution of fossils. Coal typically forms in warm, humid climates. However, scientists have discovered coal beneath the icy layers of the South Pole. To explain this phenomenon, it is believed that this icy landmass was once located elsewhere on Earth and had a completely different climate – conditions favorable for the formation of coal.

Based on the evidence gathered through plate tectonics research, Pangaea may not have been the only supercontinent to have existed. In fact, archaeological data combining various rock types and fossil discoveries show that the formation and breakup of a supercontinent similar to Pangaea may have occurred multiple times throughout Earth’s history.

Scientists predict that the formation of a supercontinent will continue to occur. Currently, the continents are gradually moving from the mid-Atlantic ridge to the Pacific center. It is believed that these continents will eventually collide with each other again in about 80 million years.

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