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From: larry@jc3b21.UUCP (Lawrence F. Strickland)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
Subject: Re: alternative to plate tectonics
Message-ID: <777@jc3b21.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 7-Dec-86 10:49:39 EST
Article-I.D.: jc3b21.777
Posted: Sun Dec  7 10:49:39 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Dec-86 03:34:34 EST
References: <531@weitek.UUCP> <1272@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> <1273@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu>
Organization: St. Petersburg Junior College, FL
Lines: 29
Summary: Pan-gaea and earlier continents


Just recently on Public TV, there was a show that mentioned plate tectonics,
sea-floor spreading and the like.  They made one very interesting statement
that I'm having a lot of trouble verifying.  According to Wegner's hypothesis,
there was once a large super-continent (Pan-gaea) that split up to form the
later continents.  MUCH evidence supports this.  Also supported is the fact
that the current continent shapes (plus or minus a few buldges) are very
similar to what the were when Pan-gaea broke up.

Now the show I saw contended that for North America, at least, the continent
was built up from deposition on an originally smaller continent based in
southern Canada.  They called it the Canadian shelf or something like that.
They also noted that this rock PRE-DATED the formation of Pan-Gaea!

Try as I might, I can't find any books or other sources that either confirm or
deny this.  Most go back to Pan-gaea and talk about the break up and the sea-
floor spreading and subduction that has taken place since then, but nothing
that would indicate shapes of continents prior to the formation of Pan-gaea.

Was this just a flight of fancy of the author of the show?  Are there any
theories on continents prior to Pan-gaea?  Where can one find this stuff??

-----Larry

-- 
-----Lawrence F. Strickland (larry@jc3b21)      Dept. of Engineering Technology
                                                St. Petersburg Jr. College
     Phone:  +1 813 341 4705                    P.O. Box 13489
     UUCP:  ...akgua!usfvax2!jc3b21!larry       St. Petersburg, FL 33733