Pangaea

or Pan·ge·a

[ pan-jee-uh ]

noun

, Geology.

1. the hypothetical landmass that existed when all continents were joined, from about 300 to 200 million years ago.

Pangaea

/ pænˈdʒiːə /

noun

1. the ancient supercontinent, comprising all the present continents joined together, which began to break up about 200 million years ago See also Laurasia Gondwanaland

Pangaea

/ păn-jē′ə /

1. A supercontinent made up of all the world's present landmasses joined together in the configuration they are thought to have had during the Permian and Triassic Periods. According to the theory of plate tectonics, Pangaea later broke up into Laurasia and Gondwanaland , which eventually broke up into the continents we know today.

Pangaea

1. A former “supercontinent” on the Earth . In the distant past a large landmass, Pangaea, included all the present continents , which broke up and drifted apart. ( See plate tectonics .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pangaea¹

1920–25; pan- + Greek gaîa earth; allegedly coined by German meteorologist Alfred L. Wegener (1880–1930)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pangaea¹

C20: from Greek, literally: all-earth

Example Sentences

This is what they found: The suturing together of Pangaea Ultima’s constituent parts would increase volcanic activity, powering a massive pulse of explosive, greenhouse gas–belching eruptions that raise global temperatures.

From Scientific American

The last supercontinent, Pangaea, broke apart about 200 million years ago.

From Scientific American

He and his colleagues report that the breakup of ancient supercontinents like Pangaea and Rodinia caused deep disruptions in the flow of the mantle beneath Earth’s crust, setting off the blasts.

From New York Times

It is thought to date to the Carnian stage of the Triassic period, when today's Zimbabwe was part of the massive supercontinent Pangaea.

From BBC

During the late Triassic period, when the terrestrial world was a single sprawling land mass called Pangaea, a dog-size plant-eating dinosaur perished near a river in the southern part of the continent.

From Science Magazine