Outline 12:

The Paleozoic World

Paleozoic Plate Tectonics and

Paleogeography

Paleozoic Continents

• How do we reconstruct Paleozoic

geography?

–Location and age of Paleozoic

mountain belts

–Reconstruction of climatic zones

–Paleomagnetic data

Ancient

desert

sand

dunes.

Desert

latitudes.

Ancient Glacial Deposits and Striated Bedrock

(Precambrian). Polar latitudes.

The Pittsburgh Coal outcropping in

Morgantown. Tropical latitudes.

Coal forms

from land

plants

Wyoming

Coal Mine

Paleomagnetic Data

• Direction of ancient magnetic field

–Gives the ancient N-S direction of

the continent

• Inclination of ancient magnetic field

–Gives the latitude of the continent,

but not the longitude

Northern

Hemisphere

Southern

Hemisphere

Paleozoic Continents

• Baltica: northern Europe and western

Russia

• China: southern China and southeast Asia

• Siberia: Siberia and northern China

• Kazakhstania: Kazakhstan, Uzbekhistan,

Afghanistan, etc.

Paleozoic Continents

• Gondwana: mainly the southern

continents, South America, Antarctica,

Australia, Africa, India, southern Europe,

Florida, Georgia, and the Bahamas.

• Laurentia: North America, Greenland,

Scotland, part of Scandinavia

Figure 10.2: Global paleogeography for the

Cambrian period

Paleozoic Orogenies

• Taconic Orogeny, Ordovician: Baltica

moving towards Laurentia

• Caledonian Orogeny, Silurian: Baltica

collides with Laurentia in the north

• Acadian Orogeny, Devonian: Baltica

collides with Laurentia in the south.

Forms the continent Laurussia.

Figure 10.14: Global paleogeography for the

Ordovician period

Figure 10.19: Global paleogeography for the

Early Devonian period

Laurussia

S.E. USA

and

Bahamas

Paleozoic Orogenies

• Allegheny Orogeny, Pennsylvanian

and Permian: Gondwana collides with

Laurussia.

• The Taconic, Caledonian, Acadian,

and Allegheny orogenies together

formed the Appalachian Mountains

from Georgia to Norway.

Carboniferous

Paleogeography

as the Proto-

Atlantic Ocean

closes

Figure 10.28: Global paleogeography for the

Late Permian Period

Paleozoic Orogenies

• Ural Orogeny, Permian:

Laurussia+Gondwana collides with

Siberia+Kazakhstania. Forms Ural

Mountains.

• Triassic: China collides with the other

continents to complete Pangea. Forms

mountains of Mongolia.