When it rained for two million years
The arid supercontinent turns humid for a million years or more, and the world's flora is remade.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 2 million years
- Known to
- ± 1 million years
- Era
- Triassic, Mesozoic
Between about 234 and 232 million years ago, volcanic carbon input warms the planet and shifts Pangaea's climate abruptly from arid to humid — recorded worldwide as a distinctive interval of rainfall-driven sediments — before it reverts. Conifer forests expand, calcareous plankton radiate, and several major groups first appear or diversify sharply on the far side of it.