Re: Prior to Gondwana?

[corwin@nr.infi.net (Bill)]

If one goes back as far as the Cambrian, there were a number of continents
drifting about on the relatively stable cratons underneath. There were
approximately (key word there), seven continents during the early
Paleozoic: Laurentia, Gondwana (in 4 or 5 pieces), Laurentia, Baltica,
Kazakhstania, China, and Siberia.
Gondwana did a major southern shift before the Devonian, so that it had
pretty much fused together into a single piece. The remaining continents
came together to form Laurasia during the Early Carboniferous causing lots
of orogenies and mobile belt formations. The Iapetus Ocean which seperated
the two land masses disappeared as Pangaea was formed, leaving the
Panthalassic Ocean to cover the other 70 or so percent of the planet.


Bill Barbour
Asst. Curator of Education
Natural Science Center of Greensboro
4301 Lawndale Drive
Greensboro, NC 27455