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Baltica is a name applied by geologists to a late-
ProterozoicThe Proterozoic is a geological eon representing a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. The name Proterozoic comes from the Greek "earlier life." The Proterozoic Eon extended from 2500 Ma to 542.0 ± 1.0 Ma , and is the most recent part of the old, informally named ‘Precambrian’...
, early-Palaeozoic
continentA continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criterion, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents – they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
that now includes the
East European cratonThe East European craton is the core of the Baltica proto-plate and consists of three crustal regions/segments: Fennoscandia to the northwest, Volgo-Uralia to the east, and Sarmatia to the south...
of northwestern
EurasiaEurasia is a large landmass covering about 52,990,000 km
2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface...
. Baltica was created as an entity not earlier than 1.8 billion years ago. Before this time, the three segments/continents that now comprise the East European craton were in different places on the globe. Baltica existed on a tectonic plate called the
Baltic PlateThe Baltic Plate was an ancient tectonic plate that existed from the Cambrian period to the Carboniferous period. The Baltic Plate collided against Siberia, to form the Ural Mountains about 500 million years ago. The Baltic Plate, however, fused onto the Eurasian Plate when the Baltic Plate...
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Partial history of Baltica in chronological order
- ~1.8 billion years ago, Baltica was part of the major supercontinent
In geology, a supercontinent is a landmass comprising more than one continental core, or craton. The assembly of cratons and accreted terranes that form Eurasia qualifies as a supercontinent today.-History:...
ColumbiaColumbia is the name of one of the Earth's oldest supercontinents. It was first proposed by J.J.W. Rogers and M. Santosh, and is thought to have existed approximately 1.8 to 1.5 billion years ago in the Paleoproterozoic Era, making it the oldest hypothesized continent...
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- ~1.5 billion years ago, Baltica along with Arctica
Arctica was an ancient continent which formed approximately 2.5 billion years ago in the Neoarchean era. It consisted of the Canadian and Siberian shields, and is now roughly situated in the Arctic around the current North Pole. Arctica joined with the continents Atlantica and Nena about one...
and East AntarcticaThe East Antarctic craton is an ancient craton that forms most of Antarctica. It was part of the Nena supercontinent 1.8 billion years ago. During the early Paleozoic Era East Antarctica joined the Gondwana supercontinent. During the Mesozoic breakup of Gondwanaland, East Antarctica separated from...
were part of the minor supercontinent NenaNena was an ancient supercontinent that consisted of the cratons of Arctica, Baltica, and East Antarctica. Forming about 1.8 billion years ago, the continent was part of the global supercontinent, Columbia. Nena is an acronym that derives from Northern Europe and North...
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- ~1.1 billion years ago, Baltica was part of the major supercontinent Rodinia
In geology, Rodinia is the name of a supercontinent, a continent which contained most or all of Earth's landmass...
.
- ~750 million years ago, Baltica was part of the minor supercontinent Protolaurasia.
- ~600 million years ago, Baltica was part of the major supercontinent Pannotia
Pannotia, first described by Ian W. D. Dalziel in 1997, is a hypothetical supercontinent that existed from the Pan-African orogeny about 600 million years ago to the end of the Precambrian about 540 million years ago...
.
- ~Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic era, lasting from ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux...
, Baltica was an independent continent.
- ~late Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian period and is followed by the Silurian period...
, Baltica collided with AvaloniaAvalonia is a former microcontinent, and the region of its Avalon terrane. It underlies south-west Great Britain, and the eastern coast of North America. It is the source of many of the older rocks of Western Europe, Atlantic Canada, and parts of the coastal United States...
(most of modern Western Europe)
- ~Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era spanning from . It is named after Devon, England, where rocks from this period were first studied....
, Baltica collided against LaurentiaLaurentia , like all craton land, was created as continents moved about the surface of the Earth, bumping into other continents and drifting away....
, forming the minor supercontinent EuramericaEuramerica was a minor supercontinent created in the Devonian as the result of a collision between the Laurentian, Baltica and Avalonia cratons .Euramerica became a part of the major supercontinent Pangaea in the Permian...
.
- ~Permian
The Permian
[The term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named...]
, all major continents collided against each other to form the major supercontinent PangaeaPangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea was the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration.The name was first used by the German originator of the continental...
.
- ~Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma to Ma, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the "Age of Reptiles". The start of the period is marked by...
, Pangaea rifted into two minor supercontinents, LaurasiaLaurasia was a supercontinent that most recently existed as a part of the split of the Pangaea supercontinent in the late Mesozoic era. It included most of the landmasses which make up today's continents of the northern hemisphere, chiefly Laurentia , Baltica, Siberia, Kazakhstania, and the North...
and GondwanaGondwana , originally Gondwanaland, is the name given to a southern precursor-supercontinent. Its final joining occurred between ca. 570 and 510 Ma ago, joining East Gondwana to West Gondwana. It later separated from Laurasia 180- during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent that existed about...
. Baltica was part of the minor supercontinent Laurasia.
- ~Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , Latin language for "chalky", usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
, Baltica was part of the minor supercontinent Eurasia.
- ~Present, Baltica is part of the forming minor supercontinent Afro-Eurasia
Afro-Eurasia or less commonly Afrasia or Eurafrasia and Eurasica are terms used to describe Eurasia and Africa as one continent. The constituent landmasses contain around 5.7 billion people, or roughly 85% of the world population....
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