What caused Pangea to break apart?

About 180 million years ago the supercontinent Pangea began to break up. Scientists believe that Pangea broke apart for the same reason that the plates are moving today. The movement is caused by the convection currents that roll over in the upper zone of the mantle. read more

Learn about the supercontinent of Pangea, which covered one-third of the planet and broke apart 200 million years ago, forming the continents of today. read more

Pangaea or Pangea ( / p æ n ˈ dʒ iː ə /) was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from earlier continental units approximately 335 million years ago, and it began to break apart about 175 million years ago. read more

Pangaea was made up of multiple plates, called tectonic plates. Over time, Tectonic plates shift or move because of the magma flowing beneath them. Today, most the cracks between the plates, called fault lines, are underwater. read more