Voyage of the Continents

- Season 2

(2014)

Geologist from around the world provide a guided tour of the geological formations that convinced them Africa was once the center of the super continent Gondwan and for a time located at the south pole. The evidence ranges from tiny diamonds and iron crystals to petrified trees to a 30 km wide crater and an entire mountain ranges. Their tour also includes Madacascar for you lemur lovers.

When the super continent Gandwana began to break up into the modern day continents, Africa separated from Europe forming the Tethys Ocean. But Africa changed it's mind. It is now traveling north to rejoin Euope reducing the Tethys ocean to what is now the Mediterranean Sea leaving behind many curious anomalies such as whales and other marine fossil in the African desserts. But of most interest to most humans, oil formed from the Tethys Ocean's wildlife is found in North Africa and Arbian peninsula. Meanwhile, Africa is breaking apart as parts of east Africa follow ...

North America has a storied history which local geologists are happy to explain. It still bears part of the continent of Africa from the collision that joined it to Pangea and formed the Appalacian mountain range. After separating again stray bits of continental crust collided in the west causing a depression that produced an inland sea running from the Artic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and eventually left a treasure trove of dinosaur fossils. An anomalous seduction zone created a parallel pair of mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada and Rocky mountains. Just for fun ...

Central America and the Caribbean Islands formed from the Farallon Tectonic Plate which was previously subducted in a collision with the conjoined North and South American Tectonic Plates. As the Americas separated, the Farallon Plate slid between them. Then the Atlantic and Pacific Tectonic plates subducted beneath the Farallon Plate forming Central America and the Antilles Islands. Now, squeezed between these four massive tectonic plates, the region is riddled with volcanoes and fault lines with their accompanying earthquakes.

900 million years ago South America, part of the super continent of Rodina, was finally compete and remains together today. After separating from Rodinia it collided with Africa joining Gandwana and forming a mountain range that has now nearly eroded away. But remnants of the mountains sill remain on both continents as small peaks such as the famous Sugarloaf in Rio de Janeiro. As South America broke away from Africa is underwent an unusual collision with the Pacific Tectonic Plate building the longest mountain range in the world, the Andes, and the uniquely ...