Gondwana

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gondwana

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Gondwana?Approximately 100,000,000 km², about 20% of Earth's surface
2. What is the supercontinent type?A major southern supercontinent of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic Eras
3. What is the key constituent continents?South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, India, Arabia, and Zealandia
4. How did Gondwana form?Gondwana formed when ancient crustal blocks, called cratons, stuck together between 800 and 650 million years ago. A big collision called the East African Orogeny helped bring the Indian and Madagascar cratons to East Africa.
5. Why did Gondwana break apart?The Earth's plates moved and pulled the land apart. This rifting started in the Early Jurassic, about 180 million years ago, and created new oceans.

Paleogeography: The study of the geographic features and land arrangements of the Earth in past geological eras.
Continental Accretion: The process by which continents grow larger through the addition of crustal material, often via collisions.
Vicariance: The geographical separation of a population or species into distinct groups, leading to divergence.
Plate Tectonics: The scientific theory explaining the large-scale motion of the Earth's lithosphere, driving continental drift and geological events.