What is Pangaea?
[[File:Pangaea continents.svg|thumb|right|250px|Map of Pangaea]] [[File:Palisades Sill from Palisades Parkway.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The [[Palisades Sill]] as seen from the Palisades Interstate Parkway. The [[Hudson River]] is the background. The formation was caused by the rifting of Pangaea in the [[Triassic]]]] [[File:Caledonides EN.svg|thumb|250px|The branches of the Caledonian/[[Acadian orogeny|Acadian]] belts at the end of the Caledonian orogeny (early [[Devonian]]). Present day coastlines are indicated in grey for reference. Later in geological history, the [[Atlantic Ocean]] opened and the different parts of the orogenic belt moved apart.<ref>Reconstruction based on Matte 2001; Stampfli ''et al'' 2002; Torsvik ''et al'' 1996 and Ziegler 1990</ref>]] '''Pangaea'''<ref>meaning ''entire Earth'' in [[Ancient Greek]]</ref> was the global [[supercontinent]] which formed in the [[Palaeozoic]] [[era]]. The process started about 450 [[million]] years ago (mya) and was complete by 210 mya. So, apart from some volcanic islands (not proven, but very likely), all the land areas were collected together in one big supercontinent. Pangaea was the latest of a series of global supercontinents. They formed at various times since [[plate tectonics]] began on Earth.<ref>{{Cite web|title=(PDF) Earth as an evolving planetary system |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286392394_Earth_as_an_evolving_planetary_system|access-date=2021-08-13|website=ResearchGate|language=en}}</ref> '''Panthalassa''' was the name of the huge global ocean which surrounded Pangaea. == Formation == The collisions between [[continental plate]]s formed the greatest mountain ranges in the history of the [[Phanerozoic]] [[eon]].<ref name=C&T>Cocks L.R.M. & Torsvik T.H. 2006. [http://www.geodynamics.no/guest/GeolSoc06.pdf European geography in a global context from the Vendian to the end of the Palaeozoic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090731085326/http://www.geodynamics.no/guest/GeolSoc06.pdf |date=2009-07-31 }} in: Gee D.G. & S