Welcome To My Website

• Home
• About Me
• Gallery
• Links/Map

       

Gondwana

 

Gondwana, originally Gondwanaland, is the name given to a southern precursor supercontinent. Its final suturing occurred between 570 and 510 million years ago , joining East Gondwana to West Gondwana. It later separated from Laurasia 180-200 million years ago during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200million years ago into two large segments, nearly equal in area. While the corresponding northern-hemisphere continent Laurasia moved further north, Gondwana drifted south. It included most of the landmasses in today's southern hemisphere, including Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, Australia-New Guinea, and New Zealand, as well as Arabia and the Indian subcontinent, which have now moved entirely into the Northern Hemisphere.

The continent of Gondwana was named by Austrian scientist, Eduard Suess, after the Gondwana region of central northern India from which the Gondwana sedimentary sequences (Permian-Triassic) are also described.

 

 

During the late Paleozoic, Gondwana extended from a point at or near the south pole to near the equator. Across much of Gondwana, the climate was mild. During the Mesozoic, the world was on average considerably warmer than today. Gondwana was then host to a huge variety of flora and fauna for many millions of years. But there is strong evidence of glaciation during Carboniferous to Permian time, especially in South Africa.

 

Gondwana began to break up in the mid-Jurassic (about 167 million years ago), when East Gondwana, comprising Antarctica, Madagascar, India and Australia, began to separate from Africa. South America began to drift slowly westward from Africa as the South Atlantic Ocean opened, beginning about 130 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous, and resulting in open marine conditions by 110 million years ago. East Gondwana then began to separate about 120 million years ago when India began to move northward.

Australia began to separate from Antarctica perhaps 80 million years ago (Late Cretaceous), but sea-floor spreading between them became most active about 40 million years ago during the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary Period.

 

New Zealand probably separated from Antarctica between 130 and 85 million years ago.

 

The image above shows Gondwana and Laurasia during the Triassic period about 200 million years ago.

 

 

 

 

Paleozoic Era

Mesozoic Era