My Science School

Our planet did not always have seven continents.  surprised? Our universe began with the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago, and Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. During its history. Earth has witnessed the coming together and the breaking up of its land masses several times, A single large land mass is called a supercontinent. There have been many supercontinents so far. The youngest supercontinent is Pangaea, formed more than 300 million years ago. This is said to have been formed when two land masses Euramerica and Gondwana - collided. Pangaea began to break up nearly 175 million years ago, and gradually fomed the world as we know it today - Gondwana became Africa, South America, Antarctica, India and Australia, and North America split from Europe. This tremendous geographical alteration also means great impact on the environment climate and biodiversity. For instance, the collision of land masses results in the creation of large mountain chains, which directly impact the dimate in the region. Also, when only one large land mass exists, the most interior regions are far removed from oceans and experience dry weather. However, when the land mass breaks up, many regions earlier in the central part get surrounded by water, altering weather patterns over a period of time. Studies also show that broken-up continents "create more ecological niches and promote favorable dimate and environmental conditions that are conducive to biodiversity" A study said that "marine species tend to become more numerous when the continents divide", and come down in great numbers when continents come together - a small example of a supercontinent's direct impact on biodiversity.

Picture Credit : Google