Panthalassa
Topic: Continental Drift, Sea-floor Spreading and Plate Tectonics · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Distribution of Oceans and Continents"
Meaning
Panthalassa means "all water". In Wegener's continental drift theory, it is the one huge ocean that surrounded the single supercontinent Pangaea. When Pangaea broke up, new oceans such as the Atlantic opened between the drifting pieces. Panthalassa itself is thought to survive as today's Pacific Ocean. The term helps explain how a world with one ocean became today's world of several oceans.
Example
The Pacific Ocean is regarded as what remains of Panthalassa. It is the largest ocean today and lies between Asia and Australia on one side and the Americas on the other.
Don't confuse with
- Tethys Sea: The Tethys was a narrower ancient ocean lying between Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Its sediments were later folded up into the Himalayas, while Panthalassa surrounded all of Pangaea.
- Pangaea: Pangaea ("all earth") was the land, and Panthalassa ("all water") was the ocean around it.