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A continent is a large geographical region defined by the continental shelves and the cultures on the continent. [1] In the modern day, there are seven continents. However, there have been more continents throughout history. Vaalbara was the first supercontinent. [2] Europe is the newest continent. [3]
[4] [9] The first to suggest that the continents were once joined and later separated may have been Abraham Ortelius in 1596. [10] The concept that the continents once formed a contiguous land mass was hypothesised, with corroborating evidence, by Alfred Wegener, the originator of the scientific theory of continental drift, in three 1912 ...
It covers roughly 539 million years. During this period continents drifted apart, but eventually collected into a single landmass known as Pangea, before splitting again into the current continental landmasses. [citation needed] The Phanerozoic is divided into three eras – the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic and the Cenozoic.
Apparently, Pangea broke apart at about the speed fingernails grow.
Another historical term for this continent is the Old Red Continent or Old Red Sandstone Continent, in reference to abundant red beds of the Old Red Sandstone during the Devonian. The continent covered 37,000,000 km 2 (14,000,000 sq mi) including several large Arctic continental blocks.
The continents now known as Africa and South America started to split around 140 million years ago, researchers said. The south Atlantic Ocean eventually filled the void.
Also described as a supercraton or just a continent [13] Ur: 2,803–2,408: Mesoarchean-Siderian: Described as both a continent [2] and a supercontinent [14] Kenorland: 2,720–2,114: Neoarchean-Rhyacian: Alternatively the continents may have formed into two groupings Superia and Sclavia [15] [4] Arctica: 2,114–1,995: Rhyacian-Orosirian
An 1849 atlas labelled Antarctica as a continent but few atlases did so until after World War II. [114] Over time, the western concept of dividing the world into continents spread globally, replacing conceptions in other areas of the world. The idea of continents continued to become imbued with cultural and political meaning.