Gondwana

Also known as Gondwanaland

Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Zealandia, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent.

AI overview

Gondwana was a massive supercontinent that existed in Earth's ancient past and has since broken apart into separate continents. Today, the pieces that were once joined together as Gondwana include South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and several other landmasses, which together make up about two-thirds of all continental land on Earth.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Historical continent.name: Gondwana
Historical continent.image: Gondwana 420 Ma.png
Historical continent.caption: Gondwana 420 million years ago (Late Silurian)
Historical continent.formation_year: 600 Mya
Historical continent.type: Supercontinent
Historical continent.today: AfricaNorth AmericaSouth AmericaAustraliaIndiaArabiaAntarcticaBalkans
Historical continent.smaller_continents: South AmericaAfricaAustraliaAntarcticaZealandia
Historical continent.plate: African PlateAntarctic PlateIndo-Australian PlateSouth American Plate

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Wikidata facts

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Commons category: Gondwana (supercontinent)

Sources (5)

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~34 min read

Article

21 sections

Contents

Name
Formation
Peri-Gondwana development: Paleozoic rifts and accretions
Southwestern accretions
Gondwana as part of Pangaea: Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic
Break-up
Mesozoic
Opening of western Indian Ocean
Opening of eastern Indian Ocean
Opening of South Atlantic Ocean
Early Andean orogeny
Cenozoic
Australia–Antarctica separation
Biogeography
Post-Cambrian diversification
Modern diversification
See also
References
Notes
Sources
External links

Gondwana was formed by the accretion of several cratons (large stable blocks of the Earth's crust), beginning   with the East African Orogeny, the collision of India and Madagascar with East Africa, and culminating in   with the overlapping Brasiliano and Kuunga orogenies, the collision of South America with Africa, and the addition of Australia and Antarctica, respectively. Eventually, Gondwana became the largest piece of continental crust of the Paleozoic Era, covering an area of some , about one-fifth of the Earth's surface. It fused with Laurasia during the Carboniferous to form Pangaea.