The formation of the Earth was a very long and painful process that took approximately 4.6 billion years. This process is still ongoing; Just as the world was different from what it is now in ancient times, it will be different from what we know in the future. So how were the Earth and the continents in the past different from what they are now? Let’s see together.
Most scientists argue that the universe was formed 13 to 14 billion years ago with the Big Bang. Two things occurred as a result of the Big Bang: matter and energy. At that time, the entire universe was compressed into a balloon thousands of times smaller than the tip of a needle, and it was much hotter and denser than we could have imagined. Over time the universe cooled and grew; by providing a suitable environment finally stars and galaxies has occurred.
It would take some more time for Earth’s journey to begin.
How did the story of Earth begin?
Earth 4.6 billion years agoformed as a result of the collision of particles in a large cloud of matter. Gravity brought all these dust and gas particles together into large clumps. As these large clusters continued to collide and grow, our world began its long story. Of course, the way the Earth was in its ancient days had nothing to do with the way we know it today.
The continent formation of our world billions of years ago was quite different from what it is today. 4.6 billion years ago, when the Earth was just beginning to form, it was nothing more than a giant fireball swirling through space. While initially superheated gases can escape into space As the Earth cooled, they were trapped by gravity to form the original atmosphere, and as a result, clouds began to form with the accumulation of water vapor in the air. The first land masses would take millions of years to form.
What is plate movement? What role does it play in the formation of continents?
In this section, we will examine together what tectonic plate movements are, how they affect the earth’s surface and continue to affect it. Over the years, supercontinents—massive landmasses formed by the merging of multiple landmasses—have been formed and destroyed by tectonic plate movements.
tectonic plate cycle; begins with the balancing of a supercontinent with a superocean. Plate movement begins to break up the supercontinent in question, and as a result, a new supercontinent is formed by the collision of landmasses scattered into the ocean; but this supercontinent eventually suffers the same fate and this cycle repeats. We are now in the middle of one of these cycles.
So, how did the world take its current form?
According to a widely accepted theory; Many years after the formation of the Earth, approximately After 250 million years, all the continents of that time came together pangea formed the supercontinent known as Then, about 150 million years ago, a rift appeared on this supercontinent and new crust formed underwater along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Following this change, Pangea broke up over time into two huge continents called Gondwana and Laurasia.
Gondwana; today it was a landmass that included Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, and India. The subcontinent of India broke off from here; It swept north and collided with the Asian continent, cutting off the southern coast of Africa as well. Thus, the world’s largest mountain range with a length of more than 2500 kilometers, Himalayas has occurred. This new state of Earth was pretty close to what we know now.
causes the earth’s land masses to move slowly in the earth’s crust plate movements this gripping adventure still continues; The continents are moving away from each other at a rate of several kilometers per year. According to the predictions of some scientists, the continents that exist now and are gradually moving away from each other will come together again in the distant future, due to the roundness of the world, to form a new supercontinent; just like before.
If you are wondering how plate movements work, let’s take you here: