Formation and break-up of Pangaea, illustration. Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Palaeozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the collision of the continental masses of Laurentia and Gondwana approximately 335 million years ago (centre panel). The Rheic Ocean between these continents closed and the Rheic tectonic plate subducted beneath Laurentia. A section of the Rheic plate sank into the Earth's mantle causing an upwelling which formed the volcanic Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP) around 200 million years ago (right-hand panel). This produced rifting in the North which eventually led to the break-up of the supercontinent.