All continents were connected as one giant landmass known as Pangaea.
200 million years ago
Pangaea began to break up. It broke into two large landmasses known as Laurasia and Gondwanaland.
GONDWANALAND Australia North
LAURASIA
65 million years ago
The movement continued. Australia split from Antarctica.
145 million years ago
South America split away from Africa. This period of time is known for the increase in the number of dinosaurs on earth.
PRESENT DAY
Continents are located in the positions we know today. But they are still moving!
2. Continental drift
Communicating
Turn to the person next to you and look at the map of the present day in figure 2. Based on what you see, describe how you think our continents might look in another 200 million years.
2
What do you think causes our continents to move like this? The answer lies deep within our earth.