Science: Geopoetry Becomes Geofact

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Using their newfound evidence to trace the drift of land masses, some scientists believe that the present continents resulted from the breakup of two su-percontinents. They call one Gondwanaland (after a region in India that is rich in African-type fossils); it presumably once consisted of the Indian subcontinent, Africa, South America, Australia and Antarctica. The other is Laurasia, the progenitor of North America, Greenland, Europe and Asia. About 250 million years ago, at the beginning of the age of dinosaurs, these land masses began to break up and drift apart. North America moved to the west, Europe and Asia toward the east. Africa remained largely stationary, while South America headed west and Australia edged northward away from Antarctica. Where it will all end, no one can be certain. The continents are still drifting —at rates of two or so inches a year —and show no signs of slowing down.