Pangaea comes together
Nearly all the world's land joins into a single continent surrounded by a single ocean.
- When
- Known to
- ± 10 million years
- Era
- Carboniferous, Paleozoic
The Variscan and Appalachian collisions complete the assembly of Pangaea, a landmass stretching from pole to pole and surrounded by the world ocean Panthalassa. Continental interiors, far from any coast, become extreme deserts with searing summers and freezing winters. The configuration governs climate, ocean circulation and the distribution of life for the next 150 million years.