It’s been estimated that in all of Earth’s history, there have been 7 supercontinents, with the most recent one being Pangaea.
The next supercontinent (Pangaea Ultima) is expected to form in around 250 million years.
Why is this the case? What phenomenon causes these giant landmasses to coalesce, break apart, then coalesce again?
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When the continents are apart, they move. When they move, they have a high likelihood of eventually hitting another one. When the continents are together, there isn’t exactly anywhere to move other than apart again.
Due to probability of movement and the fact that continents that have already slammed into each other are much more likely to separate than go further into each other, it makes it most likely that a cycle would emerge.
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