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?
In: 1126
Are you familiar with a [clacker toy?](https://j.gifs.com/0A6.gif)
Imagine that, doing the up/down style of clacking shown above (rather than the round and round style of its use), but with something like 15 clacker balls of differing size, on slightly different arcs, but all with the same radius. They reach the top, and that’s Pangea. Then, they bounce off each other (at geological speeds, so measured in the hundreds of millions of years), and swing back down to the bottom (Pangea Ultima, or Pangea VIII), at which point they bounce off each other *again,* back towards the top (Pangea IX).
Over time, the speed of their travel will get slower and slower (as their kinetic energy is turned into mountains with each collision), until they *stay* in a super continent.
…but in the mean time, they keep bouncing against each other, back and forth.
Latest Answers