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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960 1960] ==Definition== *1: a hypothetical former large continent ...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Pangea_animation_03.gif|right|frame]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960 1960]
==Definition==
*1: a hypothetical former large [[continent]] from which other continents are held to have broken off and drifted away
==Description==
In [[geology]], a '''supercontinent''' is the assembly of most or all of the Earth's [[continent]]al blocks or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cratons cratons] to form a single large landmass. However, the [[definition]] of a ''supercontinent'' can be [[ambiguous]]. Many tectonicists such as Hoffman (1999) use the term “supercontinent” to mean “a clustering of nearly all continents”. This definition leaves room for [[interpretation]] when labeling a continental body and is easier to apply to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precambrian Precambrian] times. Using the first definition provided here, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana Gondwana] (Gondwanaland) is not considered a ''supercontinent'', because the landmasses of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltica Baltica], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurentia Laurentia] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia Siberia] also existed at the same time but physically [[separate]] from each other. The landmass of Pangaea is the collective name describing all of these continental masses when they were in a close proximity to one another. This would classify [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea Pangaea] as a ''supercontinent''. According to the definition by Rogers and Santosh (2004), a ''supercontinent'' does not exist today. ''Supercontinents'' have assembled and dispersed multiple times in the geologic past. The positions of continents have been accurately determined back to the early [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic Jurassic]. However, beyond 200 Ma, continental positions are much less certain.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercontinent]
[[Category: Earth Science]]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960 1960]
==Definition==
*1: a hypothetical former large [[continent]] from which other continents are held to have broken off and drifted away
==Description==
In [[geology]], a '''supercontinent''' is the assembly of most or all of the Earth's [[continent]]al blocks or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cratons cratons] to form a single large landmass. However, the [[definition]] of a ''supercontinent'' can be [[ambiguous]]. Many tectonicists such as Hoffman (1999) use the term “supercontinent” to mean “a clustering of nearly all continents”. This definition leaves room for [[interpretation]] when labeling a continental body and is easier to apply to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precambrian Precambrian] times. Using the first definition provided here, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana Gondwana] (Gondwanaland) is not considered a ''supercontinent'', because the landmasses of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltica Baltica], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurentia Laurentia] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia Siberia] also existed at the same time but physically [[separate]] from each other. The landmass of Pangaea is the collective name describing all of these continental masses when they were in a close proximity to one another. This would classify [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea Pangaea] as a ''supercontinent''. According to the definition by Rogers and Santosh (2004), a ''supercontinent'' does not exist today. ''Supercontinents'' have assembled and dispersed multiple times in the geologic past. The positions of continents have been accurately determined back to the early [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic Jurassic]. However, beyond 200 Ma, continental positions are much less certain.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercontinent]
[[Category: Earth Science]]