Once, in the distant past, during the formation of our planet, all modern continents were united and made up the supercontinent Pangea. According to some geologists, this "big man" upset the balance of the planet. As a result, the continent broke up into two huge super-continents - Gondwana and mainland Laurasia.
Gondwana is a huge part of the land that arose about 600 million years ago. It was located at the South Pole. During a sharp movement to the north, the earth connected with another mainland, forming a huge land - Pangea. However, during the Jurassic period, the continent disintegrated again, forming Gondwana and the northern mainland of Laurasia. After about 30 million years, Gondwana began to disintegrate into smaller parts. So there were Africa, Australia, Antarctica, South America and some other lands. In the same period there was a split in Laurasia. From this land Eurasia and North America were formed.
Mainland education
During the split of Pangea, the fault line supposedly lay along sections of lithospheric plates that became weakened during a collision with other plates — in areas where a huge island or some other part of the land joined the supercontinent. According to some scientists, the collision was due to the movement of plates. As a result, a huge part of the land began to split into smaller sections.
Another theory
There are opinions of scientists who say that the collapse of the continent into Gondwana and Laurasia occurred due to other events.
Geologists drew attention to the ridge on the territory of the Pacific Ocean - to the Hawaiian Islands. At this place volcanoes stretch for almost 3.5 thousand km. Some of them still throw out lava, and the oldest last time was active about 40 million years ago. All these volcanoes were generated by a “hot spot” capable of cutting through lithospheric holes. Volcanoes form in these places. According to scientists, the "hot spot" is stationary in the mantle, and the lithosphere is slowly moving above it. Because of this, the volcano moves away from the focus of magma, starting to die out. In the place where this point remains, a new volcano forms.
Under the vast continent, a lot of heat accumulated. The hot stream from the mantle could not penetrate the exit upward, due to which it began to spread out on the sides, forming horizontal arms. As a result of prolonged exposure to the lithosphere, the molten material washed the layers of the plate and as a result tore apart the lithosphere. So began a long volcanic eruption.
If you believe this hypothesis, then along the fault line there should be many volcanoes, traces of eruptions. They should be along Africa, Europe, North and South America - where the division of Pangea occurred. Indeed, along the coast there are layers that were formed during the breakdown of Laurasia and the mainland of Gondwana into smaller parts. However, few facts have been collected so that scientists can say for sure that it is the theory of volcanoes that is the true cause of the fault.
The composition of the ancient continent
Gondwana is a huge continent, once located in the southern hemisphere of the Earth. The structure included: Madagascar, South America, Antarctica, India, Africa, Australia.
The heart of Gondwana was Antarctica. It bordered on all the other continents that were part of Gondwana. Under a thick layer of ice and snow, the history of the formation of ancient continents is stored in Antarctica. Someday people will recognize her.
The collapse of the supermaterial
About 160 million years ago, two great mainland giants began to decay into smaller parts of the land. The space between them was filled by the Indian, Arctic, Atlantic oceans. Gradually, the ancient Gondwana and the other continent turned into the familiar surface of the Earth with seven continents.
Of particular interest to geologists is the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, located in the Atlantic Ocean. In this place there are only three hundred people. The main island of the archipelago is a volcanic cone. According to some scientists, this particular volcano played a major role in the formation of the modern world, although the details of the process are unclear.
Theory of extinction
According to scientists, a "hot spot" is hiding under Hawaii. Perhaps in ancient times such volcanic formations burned Gondwana, weakening the lithosphere, which caused the decay into smaller parts of the land. Traces of those events remained on the formed crust, namely, frozen lava. In the vicinity of the archipelago is a huge ridge called the Whale. However, it still remains a mystery whether the decay of Gondwana was caused by volcanic activity or whether the eruption occurred after it fell apart into the mainland. In the near future, scientists plan to reveal this secret after underwater exploration of the archipelago. In any case, the division into the composition of Gondwana affected the Earth’s climate, the formation of the current in the oceans.
Crushing theory
As mentioned above, about 150 million years ago, Gondwana began to share. At first, two parts appeared - eastern and western. The latter included Arabia, South America, Africa, and the east included Hindustan, Madagascar, Australia, and Antarctica. The border of separation became the strait of Mozambique.
After 25 million years, East Gondwana was divided into two parts - Indigascar and Australasian Antarctica. Between them arose the Indian Ocean.
After another 25 million years, the separation of South America from Africa took place. Between them appeared the Atlantic Ocean. At that time, Gondwana was no longer the whole continent, but a continent divided into separate parts, which continued to give parts of the land, forming new tracts of land. So, about 90 million years ago, Hindustan and Madagascar split. And already in the Cenozoic era, there was a separation of Australia and Antarctica.
In those places where clashes of lithospheric plates occurred, mountains formed. An example of such pressure is the Alps, the Himalayas. They clearly show how two giant plates bumped into each other, lifting huge tracts of land.
What happened next
Gondwana is a huge piece of land. If you add up all the parts of the land that were once part of the continent, you can see the scale of the giant.
The formation of land boundaries took many years. So, in Australia during the Permian period there was a huge glacier. At these times, the outskirts of the mainland hid under the seas. In places, the seas flooded the glacier. And such size changes occurred with all continents. As a result of a long formation, the Earth began to have the form to which we are accustomed. But this is not the end of the formation. Scientists say that lithospheric plates are moving, although we hardly notice it. As a result of these movements, someday the surface of the planet will look different, not like it is today.