Greater Adria facts for kids
Greater Adria was an ancient, small continent that existed a very long time ago, between 240 and 140 million years ago. Imagine it like a giant island, similar in size to modern-day Greenland. Scientists named it after a region in Italy called Adria, where they first found clues about this lost land. Greater Adria is known as a paleomicrocontinent, which means it was a smaller continent from Earth's distant past.
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Uncovering an Ancient Continent
Scientists first shared the discovery of Greater Adria in September 2019. They uncovered this ancient continent by using special computer programs. These programs, like one called GPlates, help scientists simulate how Earth's giant tectonic plates have moved over millions of years. By running these simulations, they could piece together the story of Greater Adria.
Greater Adria's Epic Journey
About 240 million years ago, Greater Adria began its journey. It started as a piece that broke away, or rifted, from the northern part of Africa. Back then, Africa was part of a huge supercontinent called Gondwana.
Once it broke free, Greater Adria drifted into an ancient ocean known as the Neo-Tethys Ocean. It slowly moved north towards another supercontinent called Laurasia. Around 200 million years ago, a smaller piece, the microcontinent of Iberia, separated from Greater Adria.
Eventually, about 140 million years ago, Greater Adria reached the southern part of Europe, which was then part of Laurasia. It began to join, or accrete, onto Europe. Then, about 100 million years ago, Greater Adria started to slide underneath Europe. This process is called subduction. At that time, the Po River, which flows through Italy today, actually flowed much further north, towards what is now Switzerland.
Where is Greater Adria Today?
Most of Greater Adria has now disappeared deep into the Earth. However, parts of its ancient crust can still be found today. These pieces form parts of some of Europe's most famous mountain ranges.
You can find remnants of Greater Adria in the Alps, the Apennines in Italy, the Balkans, Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), and the Caucasus mountains. The microcontinent of Iberia, which separated earlier, also forms Iberia (Spain and Portugal), the Pyrenees mountains, and Occitania in France.
Excluding Iberia, only a small strip of Greater Adria remains relatively intact. This strip runs from Turin in Italy to Istria and the "Heel of Italy", mostly hidden beneath the Adriatic Sea. Most of the rest of Greater Adria's crust is now about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) deep under Europe.
See also
- Mauritia (microcontinent), a sunken microcontinent found under Mauritius
- Zealandia, a mostly sunken continent under New Zealand
