Pangea With Our Current International Borders

What Pangea Would Look Like With Our Current International Borders. Pangaea Politica By Massimo Pietrobon

About 335 to 175 million years ago, the landmasses of Earth were not divided into the seven continents (or eight, including Zealandia), that we recognize today, but were instead joined into a single supercontinent known as Pangaea. This vast landmass was surrounded by the global ocean, Panthalassa. Around 200 million years ago, Pangea began to break apart, setting the stage for the formation of our current continents. Here’s a glimpse of what it might have looked like if modern international borders were applied to Pangea:

1. North America and Europe/Africa Connection

• North America would be directly attached to Northwest Africa and Western Europe.
• The United States could share land borders with Morocco and Spain, making North Africa and Western Europe much more accessible.
• Canada might be close to Scandinavia, with countries like Norway and Greenland nearby, forming an unusual polar connection.
• Russia, already the largest country, would span a large area across the northern sections of Pangea, linking it directly with North America to the west and Asia to the east, meaning the U.S. and Canada might share direct land borders with Russia.

2. South America and Africa as Close Neighbors

• South America and Africa were already joined in Pangea, meaning that modern Brazil would align with West African countries like Nigeria and Ghana.
• Moving southward, Argentina would be close to South Africa, creating a southern hemisphere region that combines parts of Africa and South America into a single contiguous landmass.
• This means that the Amazon rainforest and the Congo basin—two of the world’s largest rainforest areas—would be relatively close, creating a massive swath of tropical forested area across the equatorial region.

Pangea, the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago, overlaid with modern-day country borders. by: @diversetravel_

3. Middle East and Central Asia Join Africa and Europe

• Saudi Arabia and the Middle East would be aligned with Northeast Africa and close to southern Europe, making Middle Eastern countries share land borders with parts of North Africa and Europe.
• Countries like Turkey could potentially bridge Asia and Africa directly across a narrow land isthmus. The Middle East and North Africa, already historically connected, would form an even more pronounced cultural and geographic continuum across Pangea.
• Central Asia (modern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, etc.) would connect directly to Eastern Europe, resulting in new proximities and shifting political borders.

4. India, Southeast Asia, and Australia Realigned

• India would be nestled against the eastern edge of Africa, near Madagascar. Instead of being in South Asia, India would essentially be an East African landmass.
• Southeast Asia would be closer to the eastern parts of Africa and southern China, meaning countries like Thailand and Vietnam might share borders with the eastern coast of Africa.
• Australia, which was closer to Antarctica on Pangea, might have ties to India and Antarctica, connecting the south in a way that would unite some of Earth’s most isolated continents in our current era.

5. Antarctica Near South America and Africa

• Antarctica, which was once located further north and connected with other southern continents, would be close to South America’s southern tip and South Africa. This would potentially create a polar region that unites southern South America, Africa, and Antarctica.
• With Antarctica in this position, it would be far less isolated than today, influencing climate and ocean patterns across adjacent continents.

Large version of Pangea With Our Current International Borders.

6. Unique New Landform and Ecosystem Interactions

• Biodiversity Hotspots: Tropical zones, such as those in Africa and South America, would be extended across the equator, resulting in massive, continuous rainforests.
• Climate Effects: Landlocked oceans and new mountain ranges would dramatically affect the climate, altering wind and ocean currents. For example, an Atlantic or Pacific Ocean as we know it wouldn’t exist; instead, there would be an immense Pangea Sea within the supercontinent, surrounded by all the major landmasses.
• Cultural and Economic Connections: Political alliances and cultural exchanges could have been entirely different, given the proximity between today’s distant regions. Trade, migration, and resource access would be fundamentally transformed.

This hypothetical map with current borders overlaid onto Pangea would show countries in very different proximities and with new neighbors across continents. If you’re interested, I could create a visual representation of this idea!