What is the Supercontinent Cycle?
The supercontinent cycle is a geologic cycle where the Earth’s continents alternatively merge into a single supercontinent, split into numerous continents, then merge again. The cycle is estimated to be 300 – 500 million years long. The supercontinent cycle is simply the result of geometry; given that about 29% of the Earth’s surface is composed of continents resting on tectonic plates moving in a roughly random fashion, after a certain length of time, these continents will eventually aggregate and stick. But they won’t stick forever — rifting events between the continental plates cause them to move apart again, and the supercontinent cycle continues. Previous supercontinents have included Pangaea, which formed 250 million years ago, Gondwanaland, which formed about 600 million years ago, Rodinia, which existed ~1.1 billion to ~750 million years ago, Columbia, which existed ~1.8 to 1.5 billion years ago., Kenorland, which existed ~2.7 to ~2.1 billion years ago, Ur, which existed ~3 bi
