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Geological Society, London, Memoirs; 2006; v. 32; p. 83-95;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.MEM.2006.032.01.05
© 2006 Geological Society of London

Introduction

European geography in a global context from the Vendian to the end of the Palaeozoic

L. R. M. Cocks1 & T. H. Torsvik2,3,4

1 Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK (r.cocks{at}nhm.ac.uk)
2 Center for Geodynamics, Geological Survey of Norway, Leif Eirikssons vei 39, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
3 Institute for Petroleum Technology and Applied Geophysics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim N-7491, Norway
4 School of Geosciences, Private Bag 3, University of Witwatersrand, WITS 2050, South Africa

A succession of palaeogeographical reconstructions is presented, covering half the globe and the time interval from the latest Proterozoic (Vendian) at 550 Ma to the end of the Palaeozoic (latest Permian) at 250 Ma, mostly at 20 or 30 Ma intervals. The various terranes that today constitute Europe are defined and their margins discussed briefly; these are Gondwana, Avalonia, the Rheno-Hercynian Terrane, the Armorican Terrane Assemblage, Perunica, Apulia, Adria, the Hellenic Terrane (including Moesia), Laurentia, and Baltica. As time elapsed, many of these terranes combined to form first Laurussia and subsequently Pangaea. The further terranes of Siberia and Kara adjoined Europe and were relevant to its Palaeozoic development. Brief sections are included on the individual history and geography of the Vendian and the six Palaeozoic systems, with emphasis on their importance in the building of Europe.