Pangea

What
Pangea is the name of a super-continent that formed near the beginning of the age of Dinosaurs (the Mesozoic Era). Essentially, all of the continents on earth were smooshed up into a big continuous space that you could walk across (but I wouldn't recommend it). We estimate that the center had a big mountain range, the biggest on the planet, that would have rivaled the Himalaya Mountains that rise along the border of today's subcontinents of Eurasia and India today (think Mt. Everest, Nepal, etc.)

When
Pangea came together during the Permian Period (the end of the Paleozoic Era, pre-dinosaur time), and stayed together throughout the Triassic Period.

Pangea started to split as the Triassic Period turned into the Jurassic Period. The continents kept spreading farther apart throughout the Cretaceous Period, and are technically still splitting today.

How
Scientists have many tools to study the history of rock formations, including where these materials formed and where they have been positioned on the planet through time.

Approaches to re-construct geography include:


 * Paleomagnatism
 * Relative dating and biogeography