Pangaea

or Pan·ge·a

[ pan-jee-uh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Geology.

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

Pangaea

/ pænˈdʒiːə /

See Gondwanaland, Laurasia
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 /

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

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 .)

Origin of Pangaea¹

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

Origin of Pangaea¹

C20: from Greek, literally: all-earth

This happens again and again in Pangaea: the seemingly playful signifies something else unequivocally serious and real.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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