supercontinent

American  

[soo-per-kon-tn-uhnt] / ˌsu pərˈkɒn tn ənt /

noun

Geology.

1. a hypothetical protocontinent of the remote geologic past that rifted apart to form the continents of today.

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supercontinent British  

/ ˈsuːpəˌkɒntɪnənt /

noun

1. a great landmass thought to have existed in the geological past and to have split into smaller landmasses, which drifted and formed the present continents

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supercontinent Scientific  

/ so̅o̅′pər-kŏn′tə-nənt /

1. A large continent that, according to the theory of plate tectonics, is thought to have split into smaller continents in the geologic past. The supercontinent Pangaea is believed to have formed when earlier continental landmasses came together sometime before the Permian Period, staying together until after the Triassic Period, when it broke into the smaller supercontinents Laurasia and Gondwanaland. These supercontinents are believed to have later separated into the landmasses that correspond to the current continents. Other supercontinents are hypothesized to have formed and broken apart earlier in geologic time.

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Etymology

Origin of supercontinent

First recorded in 1955–60; super- + continent

Example Sentences

"The Western Ghats are about 150 million years old, older than the Himalayas. The species that exist there could have evolutionary roots in the Gondwana supercontinent," Koparde says.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

The Western Ghats were formed when Gondwana - a supercontinent that combined present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica - split up during the Jurassic Period.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

Around 275 million years ago, the region that is now Brazil was part of Gondwana, a vast supercontinent that included South America, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2026

Swedish entomologist Lars Brundin first proposed in 1966 that the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana triggered this evolutionary separation.

From Science Daily • Oct. 15, 2025

One hundred sixty million years ago, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent Gondwana, which also included South America, Africa, and Australia.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong