The ancient supercontinent that included nearly all of Earth’s land was Pangaea.
Pangaea formed during the late Paleozoic Era when continental blocks collided, bringing most of the planet’s landmasses together. It was surrounded by a global ocean called Panthalassa. The supercontinent began breaking apart during the Early Jurassic, roughly 200 million years ago.
The name Pangaea was coined by German meteorologist Alfred Wegener, who proposed continental drift in 1912. Wegener used the matching shapes of continents, similar fossils on widely separated landmasses, and related geological formations as evidence. Modern plate tectonics explains the movement through processes involving Earth’s lithosphere and mantle. Pangaea is not the only known supercontinent; earlier examples include Rodinia and Gondwana-related configurations.