Silurian

During the middle and late Paleozoic, about a third of the Rodinian mass was torn apart and moved to equatorial regions. Most of these blocks were assembled by a series of plate collisions into the super continents of Laurussia [the Old Red continent] by the Devonian and Laurasia by the Pennsylvanian. Meanwhile the remains of Rodinia, Gondwana, rotated clockwise and moved northward to collide with Laurasia -- the result was the super continent Pangaea [all land]. Pangaea was shaped like a huge "pack man", mouth agape and facing eastward across the equator. The large,open mouth was the Tethys Ocean.

Baltica and the attached micro continent Avalonia begin colliding with North America in scissors fashion [north to south] to form the Caledonian-Acadian orogeny.

Paleogeographic globes

430 Ma

Tectonics, Sedimentation, Paleogeography of North Atlantic Region

430 Ma

1st Order Global Tectonic Features

440 Ma

430 Ma

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