Sea level changes, erosion, sedimentation, and uplift and subsidence of the surface can change the shapes of costlines. It has been dound that the present day continental shelves acutally fit together better than the Coastlines. This makes sense, as when Pangaea rifted apart, the land immediately around the rifts would have dropped below sea level.
Laurasia and Gondwana land are the super continents formed millions of years ago in the midst of the Tethys sea.These super continents subsequently broke into present continents due to drift.Laurasia comprised the present parts of Europe and Asia while the Antarctica once used to be the part of Gondwana.
The hypothesis that states that continents slowly moved to their present-day positions on Earth is called continental drift. This theory was proposed by Alfred Wegener in the early 20th century, suggesting that continents were once part of a single supercontinent called Pangaea and have since drifted apart.
North America was most recently attached to other continents as part of the supercontinent Pangaea around 300 million years ago. The breakup of Pangaea began around 175 million years ago, leading to the gradual separation of the continents to their present-day positions.
Pangaea. "All the World." It's gone. It was the supercontinent that existed at the beginning of the Age of the Dinosaurs. Its counterpart was Panthalassa, "All the Sea." It broke up by 64 million B.C. and the present continents (Africa, Asia, the Americas, etc.) are parts of it.
Evidence supporting the theory of the supercontinent Pangaea includes the jigsaw-like fit of continents, similarities in rock formations and mountain ranges across continents that align when continents are brought together, distribution of fossils of identical species across distant continents, and similarities in ancient climates and geological records found on separate continents. These pieces of evidence work together to suggest that the current continents were once part of a single landmass.
The present shape of the continents does not fit perfectly into the shape of a supercontinent because the Earth's tectonic plates are constantly moving. These movements are driven by processes like plate tectonics and convection currents in the mantle, causing the continents to drift apart, collide, and rearrange over millions of years. This results in the continents having different shapes and positions compared to when they were part of a single supercontinent like Pangaea.
One reason is because the Coastlines of land masses change over time. If you map the edges of the continental shelves, the fit is much better.
One reason is because the Coastlines of land masses change over time. If you map the edges of the continental shelves, the fit is much better.
The Earth's tectonic plates are constantly moving, shifting the positions of the continents over millions of years. As a result, the present shapes of the continents do not fit perfectly into a supercontinent like Pangaea due to the ongoing process of plate tectonics causing changes in their positions and shapes. Additionally, erosion and other geological processes have also played a role in altering the landmasses' shapes over time.
The theory that all present continents were once joined together in a supercontinent called Pangaea was proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. He suggested that over time, Pangaea broke apart into the continents we see today, a process known as continental drift.
The Mesozoic Supercontinent is known as Gondwana or Gondwanaland.
the movement of convection currents in the mantle is the cause of plate motion.
the movement of convection currents in the mantle is the cause of plate motion.
the movement of convection currents in the mantle is the cause of plate motion.
the movement of convection currents in the mantle is the cause of plate motion.
One reason is because the Coastlines of land masses change over time. If you map the edges of the continental shelves, the fit is much better.
the Hypothesis is Based on an apparent fit between Africa and South America,Wegener hypothesized that at one time all continents were joined together in a "supercontinent" called Pangaea. The supercontinent eventually broke into the smaller continents, which then "drifted" towards their present positions.