Pangaea Ultima is a possible future supercontinent configuration.
Supercontinents describe the merger of all, or nearly all, of the Earth's landmass into a single continuous continent. In the Pangaea Ultima scenario, subduction at the western Atlantic east of the Americas leads to the subduction of Atlantic mid-ocean ridge followed by subduction destroying the Atlantic oceanic basin, causing the Atlantic Ocean to close, bringing the Americas back together with Africa and Europe. This potential configuration, which might occur about 250 million years in the future, earned its named from a similarlity to the previous Pangaea supercontinent.
It is by no means certain that this configuration will actually occur. An alternative scenario, in which the Atlantic continues to grow and the Pacific is largely consumed by the collision between the Americas and Asia, is referred to as the Amasia supercontinent.
External links
- A map of Pangaea Ultima according to Professor Christopher R. Scotese