Laurasia

E514450

Laurasia was the northern supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, comprising what are now North America, Europe, and Asia.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (40)

Predicate Object
instanceOf supercontinent
brokeUpInto Asia
Europe
North America
classification ancient landmass
containsCraton Baltica
Laurentia
Siberian Craton
continentPosition northern hemisphere
existedDuring Mesozoic Era
late Paleozoic Era
linked to: Paleozoic Era
formedFrom Pangaea
geologicEon Phanerozoic Eon
geologicStatus no longer existing as a single landmass
hasNoHumanInhabitants true
includedPresentDay Asia
Europe
Greenland
North America
Siberia
nameCoinedIn 1937
namedBy Alexander du Toit
nameEtymology combination of "Laurentia" and "Eurasia"
oceanBoundary Panthalassa Ocean
Tethys Ocean
opposedLandmass Gondwana in the southern hemisphere
paleobiogeographySignificance shaped distribution of Mesozoic terrestrial faunas in the northern hemisphere
paleoclimateRole influenced Mesozoic climate patterns in the northern hemisphere
paleogeographyField continental drift theory
plate tectonics
precededBy Rodinia
relatedConcept Gondwana
Pangaea
supercontinent cycle
separatedBy Tethys Ocean
separatedFrom Gondwana
tectonicSetting northern part of Pangaea
timeOfInitialRiftingFromGondwana late Triassic Period (approximate)
timeOfMajorBreakup Jurassic Period (approximate)
linked to: Jurassic Period
wasPartOf Pangaea

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (9)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Gondwana opposedTo Laurasia
Laurentia wasPartOf Laurasia
Pangaea comprised Laurasia
subject linked to: supercontinent Pangaea
Tethys Ocean locatedBetween Laurasia
Rheic Ocean separatedContinents Gondwana and Laurussia
linked to: Laurasia
proto-Atlantic Ocean locatedBetween Laurasia and Gondwana (during early stages of opening)
linked to: Laurasia
Paleo-Tethys Ocean separated Laurasia
Paleo-Tethys Ocean locatedBetween Gondwana and Laurasia
linked to: Laurasia