The Tethys Sea was a shallow inland body of water that existed between Laurasia and Gondwana, the geological ancestor of the modern Black, Caspian and Aral Seas. Laurasia was a supercontinent that broke off from the Pangaean supercontinent in the late Mesozoic era. ... Pangea broke into the two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana The southern supercontinent Gondwana (originally Gondwanaland) included most of the landmasses which make up todays continents of the southern hemisphere, including Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Arabia, Australia-New Guinea and New Zealand. ... Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... Satellite view of the Black Sea, taken by NASA MODIS Cities of the Black Sea The Black Sea (known as the Euxine Sea in the antiquity) is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. ... Caspian Sea viewed from orbit The Caspian Sea or Mazandaran Sea is a landlocked sea between Asia and Europe (European Russia). ... The Aral Sea has now shriveled to well under half of the area it covered fifty years ago. ...

Historical theory

The theory that the Tethys Sea existed was first proposed in 1893 by Eduard Suess, who used fossil records from the Alps and Africa. He named it after the Greek sea goddess Tethys. The development of the theory of plate tectonics later disproved or overrode many parts of Suess's theory, even determining the existence of an earlier body of water called the Tethys Ocean. However, Suess's overall concept was still relatively accurate and remarkably imaginative for its day. He is credited with the discovery of both the Tethys Sea and the Tethys Ocean. Now oil geologists depend on what was once a mere postulation. Eduard Suess (August 20, 1831 – April 26, 1914) was a 19th century geologist who was an expert on the geography of the Alps. ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria in the east, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany, through to France in the west. ... Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earths surface. ... In Greek mythology, Tethys was a Titaness and sea goddess who was both sister and wife of Oceanus. ... Plate tectonics (from the Greek word for one who constructs, τεκτων, tekton) is a theory of geology developed to explain the phenomenon of continental drift, and is currently the theory accepted by the vast majority of scientists working in this area. ... The Tethys Ocean was an ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia before the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. ...

Modern theory

According to current theory the continent of Pangea had a deep sinus, when a long seafloor spreading ridge began to develop along its lower edge, reaching from the Australian Plate in the farthest southeast and running northeastwards. In the late Jurassic (150 Ma), the rift began to splinter Laurasia and Gondwana into masses resembling the continents we see today. Africa slowly began turning counter-clockwise, and India sped northeastward over the eastern end of the Tethys Ocean. As that part of the Tethys Ocean disappeared under Cimmeria, the relatively shallow area in the western end of the Tethys Ocean opened onto the growing Atlantic Ocean, forming the Tethys Sea (or 'Tethys Seaway'). Over the next 120 million years, the Tethys Sea shrank further, closed in an all sides by Africa, Saudi Arabia and Europe, eventually becoming the Black, Caspian and Aral Seas. Map of Pangæa Pangaea (Greek for all lands) is the name Alfred Wegener used to refer to the supercontinent that existed during the Mesozoic era, before the process of plate tectonics separated the component continents. ... An oceanic ridge is an underwater mountain range, usually formed by plate tectonics. ... Categories: Plate tectonics | Geology stubs ... Mega-annum, usually abbreviated as Ma, is a unit of time equal to one million years. ... Laurasia was a supercontinent that broke off from the Pangaean supercontinent in the late Mesozoic era. ... Pangea broke into the two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana The southern supercontinent Gondwana (originally Gondwanaland) included most of the landmasses which make up todays continents of the southern hemisphere, including Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Arabia, Australia-New Guinea and New Zealand. ... The Juan de Fuca plate sinks below the North America plate at the Cascadia subduction zone. ... The Cimmerian plate is an ancient tectonic plate that comprises parts of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Tibet. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Satellite view of the Black Sea, taken by NASA MODIS Cities of the Black Sea The Black Sea (known as the Euxine Sea in the antiquity) is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. ... Caspian Sea viewed from orbit The Caspian Sea or Mazandaran Sea is a landlocked sea between Asia and Europe (European Russia). ... The Aral Sea has now shriveled to well under half of the area it covered fifty years ago. ...

Confusion of terminologies

Like every science, geology is a continuously evolving system of theories, and the terms used to describe various pre-historic formations have fluctuated as more accurate theories have emerged. Even today, many sources use "Tethys Ocean" to refer to the "Tethys Sea" and vice versa. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... The word theory has a number distinct meanings depending on the context. ...

External link

• Palaeos Earth (http://www.palaeos.com/Earth/Geography/Tethys.htm): The Tethys Sea