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File name:

Pangaea.swf
     


Title: Breakup of Pangaea.
Caption: This animation has two parts. The first part is a map depicting Earth's major tectonic plates, mid-ocean ridges, and subduction zones, and includes directions of plate movement. A click on "View Profile" depicts a cross section showing Earth's mantle, asthenosphere, and lithosphere, centered on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Here basaltic magma wells up at a divergent plate boundary, helping to drive the process of plate tectonics through seafloor spreading. Also shown is the subduction of the Pacific Plate under South America and the subsequent fueling of the creation of the volcanoes of the Andes Mountains. The second part depicts the breakup of Pangaea beginning around 200 million years ago and continuing 50 million years into the future, with major stops at 150 million years ago, 100 million years ago, 50 million years ago, and the present. All major continents are labeled.
Keywords: plate tectonics, tectonic plates, continental drift, continental rifting, Pangaea, Laurasia, Gondwanaland, divergent boundary, divergent boundaries, mid-ocean ridges, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, seafloor spreading, convergent boundary, convergent boundaries, subduction, asthenosphere, lithosphere, oceanic crust, continental crust, continental volcanic arcs, Andes Mountains