What was Pangea?

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250 million years ago, scientists think that all the continents were joined up in one big one - called Pangea. Over the last 250 million years, they have slowly moved apart to make the separate continents we see today.

Some scientists think that in another 250 million years, they may join up again to make another gigantic continent.

Look at this diagram, and see how the big continents we know today broke awaay from Pangea. New Zealand was a part of the Australian plate.

This is 130 million years ago, so they haven't yet moved as far apart as they are today.

Here you can see where the continents are today, and the main tectonic plates. As they have moved apart, the sea has filled in the gaps between them.

You can watch the process in this animation below:


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