WHEN ALL LAND WAS ONE

We’re all familiar with the seven continents as they exist today—but Earth didn’t always look this way. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the planet’s surface was arranged very differently. Between about 335 and 200 million years ago, nearly all the land on Earth was joined together in one massive supercontinent known as Pangaea.

Pangaea formed gradually over tens of millions of years through the collision of earlier landmasses, including Gondwana, Euramerica, and Siberia. The name “Pangaea” comes from the Greek words for “all Earth,” a fitting reflection of how it united almost every major landmass into one. Though its exact shape is still debated, scientists believe Pangaea was roughly C-shaped and spanned from the northern to the southern poles—imagine being able to walk from one end of the planet to the other without ever crossing an ocean!

This colossal landmass was surrounded by a single vast ocean called Panthalassa, which eventually gave way to the oceans we recognize today.

But how do we know Pangaea existed?

The idea was first proposed in 1912 by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener as part of his theory of continental drift—the idea that continents move across the Earth's surface over time. Though controversial at the time, Wegener’s theory laid the foundation for the modern science of plate tectonics, which explains how Earth's crust shifts and reshapes over geological time.


SEVERAL KEY PIECES OF EVIDENCE SUPPORT THE EXISTENCE OF PANGAEA:

  • Puzzle-Piece Continents:

    The coastlines of continents like South America and Africa, or North America and Europe, fit together remarkably well, as if once connected.

  • Geological Similarities:

    Matching rock formations and mountain ranges—like the Appalachian Mountains in North America and the Caledonides in Europe—exist across now-separated continents.

  • Fossil Evidence:

    Identical fossils of ancient plants and animals have been found on continents now an ocean apart, suggesting they once shared the same land.

  • Climate Clues:

    Glacial deposits and coal beds from the same periods are found across continents, showing similar ancient climates tied to a single landmass.

Around 200 million years ago, near the end of the Jurassic period, Pangaea began to break apart. This process happened in phases: the initial rift opened the central Atlantic Ocean, separating what would become North America from Africa. Over time, further shifts gave rise to the modern arrangement of continents—and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as we know them.

Though Pangaea is long gone, it’s a powerful reminder that all life on Earth was once connected—and in many ways, still is. It invites us to look at our planet’s deep past with curiosity and wonder, and perhaps reflect on how we move forward together into the future.