What is Pangaea Proxima?

Pangaea Proxima is a hypothetical future supercontinent that could form within the next 250 million years through the continued movement of plate tectonics. Hypothesized by Christopher Scotese, it earned its name because of its similarity to the ancient Pangaea supercontinent. In this scenario, the closure of the Atlantic and Indian oceans brings the Americas back together with Africa and Europe, creating extreme interior deserts that could drive most land mammals to extinction.

What we know

• Pangaea Proxima is a possible future supercontinent configuration that could form within the next 250 million years. [1, 2, 3]
• The configuration was hypothesized by Christopher Scotese in November 1982 and was initially named Pangaea Ultima before being renamed. [2]
• The model is derived from the extrapolation of past supercontinent cycles rather than theoretical tectonic mechanisms, which are too imprecise for such long-term projections. [2]
• The closing of the Atlantic and Indian oceans brings the Americas, Africa, and Europe back together into a single landmass. [2]
• Interior regions of the supercontinent are presumed to become semi-arid or desert areas with extreme temperatures reaching up to 55 degrees Celsius. [2]

Still open

• The exact future configuration and mechanisms of tectonic change this far into the future remain speculative, described by its creator as a fun exercise built on extrapolation rather than precise physical forecasting.

Where to go next

• whoWho first hypothesized Pangaea Proxima?
• how it workedHow do supercontinents form and break apart?
• compared withWhat are the other proposed future supercontinents?
• whenWhen did the original supercontinent Pangaea exist?
• what followedHow do continent movements affect ocean tides?
• an unexpected connectionHow might future supercontinents wipe out land mammals?The formation of Pangaea Proxima is predicted to create harsh interior deserts with temperatures up to 55 degrees Celsius, threatening most land mammals with extinction much like past geological crises.

Sources

• [1]Pangaea Proxima (Wikidata Q646762) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Pangaea Proxima · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Supercontinent · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Aurica (supercontinent) · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Pangaea · CC BY-SA 4.0