Triassic

During the latest Paleozoic into the early Mesozoic, Pangaea lay extant, across the equator. Several slices were removed from the northeastern margin of Gondwana and drifted across the Tethys Ocean to collide with Asia. Most notable were the Cimmerian blocks that included Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, and Malaysia. The western fringe of Pangaea was adjacent to a long subduction zone that formed the eastern margin of the Pacific "ring of fire".

Arc collision along western N. A. forms the Sonoman orogeny. As the Tethys Ocean expands, Cimmeria (Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan) move northward towards Laurasia.

Paleogeographic globes

230 Ma

Tectonics, Sedimentation, Paleogeography of North Atlantic Region

230 Ma

1st Order Global Tectonic Features

250 Ma

220 Ma

Link to other time periods