What is Argoland?

About Argoland

• It was a lost continent that once broke off from northwestern Australia 155 million years ago.
• The elusive, 3,106-mile stretch was once an integral part of the supercontinent Gondwana.
• It disintegrated as tectonic forces stretched the landmass out and drove it away from the rest of the continent before scattering it across Southeast Asia.
• It had initially drifted northwest, where several Southeast Asian islands currently exist today.
• But unlike India, which broke off the ancient supercontinent Gondwana 120 million years ago and still forms an intact landmass today, Argoland splintered into fragments.
• These fragments reaching their destinations simultaneously formed an archipelago rather than a unified landmass.
• Argoland, now dispersed as an archipelago separated by ocean basins, contributed to the formation of several Southeast Asian islands.

Key Facts about Gondwana

• Gondwana used to be a supercontinent, from around 550 million years ago to approximately 180 million years ago, alongside Laurasia.
• The continent eventually split into the landmasses we recognize today: Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent, and the Arabian Peninsula.

Q1) What is Laurasia?

Laurasia was a supercontinent that existed during the Late Precambrian and early Paleozoic eras, approximately 335 to 175 million years ago. It was one of the two major land masses that formed Pangaea, the other being Gondwana. Laurasia was situated in the northern hemisphere and included the areas that would later become North America, Europe, Asia, and parts of Antarctica.

Source: An ancient missing continent was finally rediscovered 155 million years after it vanished

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