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Laurasia

File:Laurasia_200Ma.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Laurasia

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Laurasia () was the more northern of two large landmasses that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around (Mya), the other being Gondwana. It separated from Gondwana (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pangaea, drifting further north after the split and finally broke apart with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean 56 Mya. The name is a portmanteau of Laurentia and Eurasia.

AI overview

Laurasia was the northern half of the ancient supercontinent Pangaea, which began breaking away from the southern landmass Gondwana during the late Triassic period and eventually split apart around 56 million years ago as the North Atlantic Ocean opened up. It matters because understanding Laurasia helps explain how the continents we know today came to be positioned where they are and how the geography of our planet has changed over millions of years.

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

Key facts

Historical continent.name
Laurasia
Historical continent.image
Laurasia 200Ma.jpg
Historical continent.caption
Laurasia (centre) and Gondwana (bottom) as part of Pangaea 200 Mya (Early Jurassic)
Historical continent.formation_year
1,071 Mya (Proto-Laurasia) 253 Mya
Historical continent.type
Supercontinent

via Wikipedia infobox

~22 min read

Encyclopedic overview

15 sections
Contents
  • Terminology and origin of the concept
  • Proto-Laurasia
  • Pre-Rodinia
  • Rodinia
  • Pannotia
  • Euramerica/Laurussia
  • Pangaea
  • Laurasia
  • Asian blocks
  • Flora and fauna
  • Final split
  • See also
  • References
  • Notes
  • Sources

Laurasia () was the more northern of two large landmasses that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around (Mya), the other being Gondwana. It separated from Gondwana (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pangaea, drifting further north after the split and finally broke apart with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean 56 Mya. The name is a portmanteau of Laurentia and Eurasia.

Laurentia, Avalonia, Baltica, and a series of smaller terranes, collided in the Caledonian orogeny c. 400 Mya to form Laurussia. Laurussia then collided with Gondwana to form Pangaea. Kazakhstania and Siberia were then added to Pangaea 290–300 Mya to form Laurasia. Laurasia finally became an independent continental mass when Pangaea broke up into Gondwana and Laurasia.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Laurasia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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