About 300 million years ago, Earth didn't have seven continents, but instead one massive supercontinent called Pangaea, which was surrounded by a single ocean called Panthalassa. 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 formed through a gradual process spanning a few hundred million years. Beginning about 480 million years ago, a continent called Laurentia, which includes parts of North America, merged with several other micro-continents to form Euramerica. read more
Pangea's creation pushed up the great Appalachian Mountains, the African Atlas Mountains, and the Russian Urals. It also heralded in two of the most awesome events in history: it bore witness to the largest mass extinction of life on Earth, and oversaw the birth and reign of the dinosaurs. read more