Editing Pannotia (section)

==Formation==
[[File:Pannotia.svg|thumb|Pannotia 545 Ma, view centred on the South Pole, after {{Harvnb|Dalziel|1997}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Dalziel|1997|loc=Fig. 12, p. 31}}</ref>]]
The formation of Pannotia began during the [[Pan-African orogeny]] when the [[Congo craton|Congo Craton]] was lodged between the northern and southern halves of the previous supercontinent [[Rodinia]] some 750 Ma. The peak in this mountain building event was around 640–610 Ma, but these continental collisions may have continued into the early Cambrian some 530 Ma. The formation of Pannotia was the result of Rodinia turning itself inside out.<ref name="Scotese-2009-Pannotia">{{Harvnb|Scotese|2009|loc=Reconstruction of Pannotia, pp. 71–72}}</ref>

When Pannotia had formed, Africa was located at the centre surrounded by the rest of Gondwana: South America, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Antarctica, and Australia. Laurentia, which 'escaped' out of Rodinia, [[Baltica]], and [[Siberia (continent)|Siberia]] kept the relative positions they had in Rodinia. The [[Cathaysia|Cathaysian]] and [[Cimmeria (continent)|Cimmerian terranes]] (continental blocks of southern Asia) were located along the northern margins of east Gondwana. The [[Avalonia]]n-[[Cadomian Orogeny|Cadomian]] terranes (later to become central Europe, Britain, the North American east coast, and Yucatán) were located along the active northern margins of western Gondwana. This [[orogeny]] probably extended north into the [[Ural Mountains|Uralian]] margin of Baltica.<ref name="Scotese-2009-Pannotia" />

Pannotia formed by [[subduction]] of exterior oceans (a mechanism called extroversion)<ref>{{Harvnb|Murphy|Nance|2013|loc=Introduction, pp. 185–187}}</ref> over a [[geoid]] low, whereas Pangaea formed by subduction of interior oceans (introversion) over a geoid high<ref>{{Harvnb|Murphy|Nance|2013|loc=Discussion, p. 191}}</ref> perhaps caused by [[superplume]]s and [[Supercontinent#Supercontinents and volcanism|slab avalanche events]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Murphy|Nance|2013|loc=Conclusions, p. 192}}</ref>
The oceanic crust subducted by Pannotia formed within the [[Mirovia]] superocean that surrounded Rodinia before its 830–750 Ma break-up and were accreted during the late Proterozoic [[orogeny|orogenies]] that resulted from the assembly of Pannotia.<ref name="Murphy-etal-2009-p412">{{Harvnb|Murphy|Nance|Cawood|2009|loc=Assembly of Pannotia, pp. 412–13}}</ref>

One of the major of these orogenies was the collision between eastern and western Gondwana or the [[East African Orogeny]].<ref name="Murphy-etal-2009-p410">{{Harvnb|Murphy|Nance|Cawood|2009|loc=Development of concepts, pp. 410–11}}</ref>  The [[Trans-Saharan Belt]] in West Africa is the result of the collision between the [[Saharan Metacraton|East Saharan Shield]] and the [[West African craton|West African Craton]] when 1200–710 Ma volcanic and arc-related rocks were accreted to the margin of this craton.<ref name="Murphy-etal-2009-p412" />
Between 600 and 500 Ma, two Brazilian interior orogens were highly deformed and metamorphosed between a series of colliding cratons: [[Amazonian craton|Amazonia]], West Africa-[[São Luís Craton|São Luís]], and [[Sao Francisco Craton|São Francisco]]-[[Congo craton|Congo]]-[[Kasai Craton|Kasai]].  The material that accreted included, 950–850 Ma, [[mafic]] meta-igneous complexes and younger arc-related rocks.<ref name="Murphy-etal-2009-p412" />