This is a list of paleocontinents, significant landmasses that have been proposed to exist in the geological past. The degree of certainty to which the identified landmasses can be regarded as independent entities reduces as geologists look further back in time. The list includes cratons, supercratons, microcontinents, continents and supercontinents. For the Archean to Paleoproterozoic cores of most of the continents see also list of shields and cratons. Dates in the table are given in Ma (Megaannum), equivalent to mya (million years ago).

List of paleocontinents

Name Age (Ma) Period/Era Range Type Comments SourcesAmazonia1300CratonArabia–Nubia610NeoproterozoicMicrocontinentRifted off Rodinia at about 840 Ma. Then accreted to North Africa with large volume of juvenile crust during the Pan-African orogeny to form the Arabian-Nubian Shield.Arctica2565NeoarcheanSupercratonArgoland 155an archipelago of microcontinents Rifted off Australia 155 Ma ago after splitting into microcontinents about 215Ma agoAtlantica1500MesoproterozoicContinentFormed from a series of cratons during the development of Columbia - independent from about 1500 Ma, following break-up of Columbia - part of Rodinia from 1000 MaAvalonia800CambrianContinentRifted off northern Gondwana in the Cambrian, eventually colliding with Laurentia and Baltica in the Caledonian Orogeny to form Laurussia.Baltica2000PaleoproterozoicContinentFormed from three cratonic fragments - the Baltic Shield, Sarmatia and Volgo–Uralia. Formed part of Columbia, then Rodinia and Pannotia. Collided with Laurentia and Avalonia to form Laurussia.Cathaysia1800ContinentFused with the Yangtze block to form the South China Craton during the Early Paleozoic.Cimmeria300Late Carboniferous–Early PermianContinentRifted off margin of Gondwana, opening up Neotethys, collided with Laurasia about 150 Ma in the Cimmerian Orogeny. Regarded as being made up of many separate continental fragments.Columbia (Nuna)2100PaleoproterozoicSupercontinentOldest widely accepted supercontinent. also known as Nuna.East AntarcticaCratonEast EuropeanCratonThe cratonic core of Baltica or a synonym for the paleocontinentGondwana500Late NeoproterozoicContinentAlso described as a supercontinentIndiaContinentKalahariCratonKazakhstaniaContinentKenorland2720NeoarcheanSupercontinentAlternatively, landmasses may have grouped into two supercratons, Sclavia and SuperiaLaurasiaCarboniferous-PermianContinentFormed by the break-up of Pangaea after Kazakhstania and Siberia had joined with the former LaurussiaLaurentia1830PaleoproterozoicContinentLaurussia425Early DevonianContinentThe "Old Red Continent" formed by the Caledonian Orogeny, joined with Gondwana to form PangaeaMawson1730PaleoproterozoicContinentNena1900PaleoproterozoicContinentNorth Australia2000PaleoproterozoicCratonNorth China2500PaleoproterozoicCratonPangaea350Late PermianSupercontinentPannotia600NeoproterozoicSupercontinentRodinia1000MesoproterozoicSupercontinentSão Francisco–Congo1800ProterozoicCratonSahul PaleoproterozoicContinent mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and Aru Islands.SclaviaPaleoarcheanSupercratonSiberia2800NeoarcheanContinentSouth AustraliaCratonSouth ChinaNeoproterozoicCratonSuperia2680NeoarcheanSupercratonTarimEarly MesoproterozoicCratonUr3100MesoarcheanContinentVaalbara3300Late Neoarchean–Early PaleoproterozoicContinentWest AfricaPaleoproterozoicCratonWest Australia2000PaleoproterozoicCratonYangtze1800Late Neoarchean–Early PaleoproterozoicCratonFused with the Cathaysia block to form the South China Craton during the Early Paleozoic.

References