Pangaea was the supercontinent that brought nearly all of Earth’s major landmasses together roughly 335 to 175 million years ago.
The name Pangaea comes from Greek roots meaning “all Earth.” German meteorologist Alfred Wegener proposed the supercontinent’s existence in 1915 as part of his theory of continental drift. He supported the idea with matching coastlines, related fossils on widely separated continents, and similarities in rock formations and ancient climates.
Pangaea began breaking apart during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods. The first major separation involved northern Laurasia and southern Gondwana, with later rifting producing the Atlantic Ocean and the modern arrangement of continents. Continental movement continues today because tectonic plates move over Earth’s asthenosphere.
Pangaea is not the first supercontinent in Earth history. Earlier proposed examples include Rodinia and Nuna, though their configurations and dates remain subjects of scientific research. The term is also sometimes confused with Gondwana, which was a major southern landmass that existed before and after Pangaea.