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How did Gondwana form and which modern landmasses were part of it?
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geologic history of Earth
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Gondwana was an ancient supercontinent that formed through a series of continental collisions during the Late Precambrian era, approximately 1 billion to 542 million years ago. It eventually became the southern portion of the larger supercontinent known as Pangea.1
The landmasses that comprised Gondwana include modern-day:
- South America
- Africa
- Arabia
- Madagascar
- India
- Australia
- Antarctica
The existence of this supercontinent was supported by geologic and paleontological evidence, such as matching rock strata and the distribution of the seed fern Glossopteris across these now-separated regions. The breakup of Gondwana began in the Early Jurassic Period, about 180 million years ago, as the landmass gradually rifted into the continents we recognize today.1