*Pangaea*, *Pangæa*, or *Pangea* (/<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English> p <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key>æ<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key> n <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key>ˈ<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key> dʒ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key>iː<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key> ə <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key>/<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English> *pan-jee-ə*<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key> ;[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#cite_note-1>) was a supercontinent <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercontinent>that existed during the late Paleozoic <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleozoic> and early Mesozoic <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesozoic> eras, forming about 300 million years ago.[2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#cite_note-2> It began to break apart around 200 million years ago.[3]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#cite_note-3> The single global ocean which surrounded Pangaea is accordingly named Panthalassa <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthalassa>.
The name Pangaea <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea_(mountain)> is derived from Ancient Greek <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek> *pan * (πᾶν) meaning "entire", and *Gaia* (Γαῖα) meaning "Earth".[4]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#cite_note-OnlineEtDict-4> The name was coined during a 1927 symposium discussing Alfred Wegener<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wegener>'s theory of continental drift <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_drift>. In his book*The Origin of Continents and Oceans* (*Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane*), first published in 1915, he postulated that prior to breaking up and drifting to their present locations, all the continents had at one time formed a singlesupercontinent<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercontinent> which he called the "*Urkontinent*".[5]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#cite_note-5> Contents [hide <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#>] - 1 Formation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#Formation> - 2 Evidence of existence<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#Evidence_of_existence> - 3 Rifting and break-up<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#Rifting_and_break-up> - 4 See also <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#See_also> - 5 References <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#References> - 6 External links <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea#External_links> The Last Days of Pangaea<http://nature.pagannewswirecollective.com/2012/04/30/the-last-days-of-pangaea/> 9<http://nature.pagannewswirecollective.com/2012/04/30/the-last-days-of-pangaea/#comments> April 30, 2012 by Eli Effinger-Weintraub<http://nature.pagannewswirecollective.com/author/eliew/> • Categorized: Restorying the Sacred<http://nature.pagannewswirecollective.com/category/story-columns/> . Pangaea was a supercontinent, and it knew it. In fact, Pangaea was the * most *super continent, and it knew that, too. Islands? Tiny. Atolls? *Please*. If you couldn’t be a supercontinent, you might as well not be above water at all . “Never mind Pangaea,” the mantle told itself. “We’re far bigger than any continent, and our convection does important work moving minerals around and about.” Pangaea scoffed. “You may be bigger,” it said, “but who can see you? And your convection is so slow, who knows it’s happening?” [image: a of the supercontinent Pangaea]<http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pangaea_continents.png> Pangaea, via Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved. But the mantle kept its convection currents moving, heating and cooling Gaia’s minerals, and it didn’t pay any mind to Pangaea’s taunting. It knew that Pangaea wasn’t the first supercontinent, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. “Supercontinents come and go,” the mantle said, “but convection perseveres.” One day (and Gaia’s days are very long, indeed, as we know), Pangaea looked at itself and noticed a rift across its middle. Because Pangaea was so big, it was acting like a giant lid that prevented Gaia’s heat from venting, and that head was causing Pangaea to buckle and break. “Well, it’s just a scratch,” it said. “I’m still a supercontinent. In fact, I’m the *only *supercontinent.” And it went about its life. But the rift got bigger, stretching day by day across Pangaea’s middle. And as if the crack itself weren’t bad enough, the convection currents were starting to pull the rifting pieces away from each other. Pangaea had no idea what to do. It was the biggest, baddest, most important landmass above water. What would it do if that were no longer true? Who would it be if it wasn’t Pangaea anymore? “Mantle! Mantle!” Pangaea cried. “I’m breaking apart! Can’t you stop your convections?” “I’m sorry,” said the mantle—and meant it. “But I have important minerals to transport. I’m sorry it’s changing you.” It *was *changing Pangaea; anyone could see that now. At last, with a long, mighty heave and groan, a piece broke off, and the convection current began to carry it away. Pangaea’s heart broke with its crust. It was no longer the most super continent above water. But then Pangaea looked around. It could see everything that its parts could see. New views! New perspectives! Water rushed in to fill the hole, creating new oceans. The surface of the planet fractured and transformed, kaleidoscopic, breaking up old ruts and making way for change. Pangaea smiled, and its slowly drifting parts smiled, too. It was no longer a supercontinent, but it was *all *continents. And that was super, too. Tags: geology <http://nature.pagannewswirecollective.com/tag/geology/>, mythology <http://nature.pagannewswirecollective.com/tag/mythology/>, story<http://nature.pagannewswirecollective.com/tag/story/> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
