Discussion » Questions » History » There was a supercontinent 200 million years ago named Gondwanaland. A lost continent was found beneath the island of Mauritius. Who knew?
RosieG

There was a supercontinent 200 million years ago named Gondwanaland. A lost continent was found beneath the island of Mauritius. Who knew?

Mauritius is in the Indian Ocean. Geologists have been drawn to Mauritius because of its strong gravitational pull. The island itself is 8 million years old. YET on its beaches have been found pieces of zircon dating back  2-3 billion years. Undoubtedly swept up by currents from the lost continent below. 2-3 billion years? 8 million years?  How do you grasp/process that amount of time? Would you like to be a geologist and discover such amazing things?  Or an archaeologist? Why?

Posted - February 3, 2017
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Responses


  • Yes, there was a Gondwanaland. No, it wasn't lost. It just discorporated. 
    Here's a diagram/map from the Britannica showing its progress. 
    But you've just settled the subject of my next blog post. I'm gonna tell everyone what REALLY happened to Atlantis.
       
    Spent the last hour writing about it. Here's a link:    http://answermug.com/blogs/3089/1659/atlantis-what-really-happened

    This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 4, 2017 1:40 AM MST
      February 3, 2017 3:45 PM MST
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  • 113301
    Well how about that? I "inspired" you to write about Atlantis? That makes me feel super nifty Gidge! Thank you for the detail research and helpful info you provided in reply to my question. I appreciate it. Happy Saturday m'dear! :) Oh I just looked up the word "discorporated" since I have never heard it before. Couldn't find it in my dictionary so I'm thinking you made it up! I do that do. It is the opposite of incorporate, right? Makes sense to me. This post was edited by RosieG at February 4, 2017 3:51 AM MST
      February 4, 2017 1:42 AM MST
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  • Yes, Rosie, you're an inspiration.

    I didn't make it up (though I sometimes do) but you were right anyway. Here's a link to the Oxford Dictionary. Check the second definition beneath "verb" 

    https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/discorporate
      February 4, 2017 3:53 AM MST
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  • 113301
    Thanks Didge. That explains it. I use the Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. A rather old edition. Printed in 2001. In my dictionary it goes from a definition of "Discordia" (ancient Roman goddess of discord) to "discotheque". No discorporate anywhere. We've been meaning to get a new dictionary. Is Oxford better than Webster's or is it just that your edition is newer? Did the word discorporate exist in 2001 or is it one of those newbie words that crop up from time to time?
      February 4, 2017 4:09 AM MST
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  • Websters is best for anybody using American English. 
    Oxford is best for British English. 
    The MacQuarie Dictionary is the best Australian dictionary. 

    Since you're in the States you're better with old Noah Webster's dictionary. But why buy one? It's all available on line and it's quicker to search than to turn pages.
      February 4, 2017 4:16 AM MST
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  • 113301
    NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!  I LOVE books and newspapers.  Our dictionary is my favorite book and we have it always open on a small table so we can look things up quickly and easily. I DESPISE Kindle Didge. I do. Despise.
    I like to hold books in my hands and turn the pages and savor what I read therein. When I was a kid my mom took me and my sis to the library weekly. As an adult I love to browse in the aisles of libraries. In fact years ago I took a vacation to Carmel, California and found a wonderful used book store there where I spent hours. I bought a couple of First Editions there in fact. I bought so many books  I had to buy a suitcase to put my clothes in because the luggage I brought was filled with books. I love bookstores. The kind that you can spend hours in on rainy days because they have chairs scattered here and there and a lunch counter where you can get coffee, a sandwich, a scone, a Brioche or croissant. Languid days. How can a computer screen ever compare with that? No. Never ever. So I guess we disagree on this. It's OK with me if it's OK with you too. Different strokes! Thanks for the info about the differences in dictionaries! Appreciate it! :)
      February 4, 2017 4:42 AM MST
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  • We don't disagree very much. I enjoy all those things too. I resisted buyng an eBook reader till a couple of months ago but now I love it. I have a Kobo. Yes, I enjoy spending time in bookshops -- they're a wonderland -- but I've been around computers since the 1980s and I guess I make a lot of use of them. 

    Anyway, it's almost 11.00 here so I'm off to bed. Catch you tomorrow. Nice chatting with you, Rosie. 
      February 4, 2017 4:51 AM MST
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  • 113301
    Ditto my friend. I look forward to our regular chats! Happy Dreams. See you tomorrow hopefully! :) It's almost 4am Saturday morning here. So you are 19 hours ahead of us time-wise?
      February 4, 2017 4:57 AM MST
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  • More or less. Normally I just take three hours off my local time, switch the AM for PM and that gives me the time in NYC but a day earlier. The rest I can work out from there. Unfortunately that doesn't work when there's daylight saving but it's close enough for an approximation.

    Charles Schulz (of Peanuts fame) once said, "Don't believe it if somebody tells you the world will end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
      February 4, 2017 1:54 PM MST
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  • 113301
    My favorite cartoonist. Years ago when Jim's older son lived in Oregon (He lives in Arizona now) we took a trip up  north to visit him and his family. A trip of about 1000 miles. We stopped in Santa Rosa to spend the night and the next day asked where The Snoopy Ice Skating Rink/Diner and the Charles Schulz museum was. That's where he lived. He had recently died at that time. When we walked into the Snoopy Diner (with attached ice skating rink) there was a single table with one chair roped off with red velvet. A single rose was in the vase on the table. It faced the ice skating rink. There was a glass "wall" that separated the diner from the rink. That's where Schulz used to go daily for coffee, reading the paper. After we had coffee we visited the museum which was totally great and the adjacent gift shop. On our fridge we have a fridge magnet of Snoopy with a tennis racquet. As you know Jim plays tennis and we are tennis fans. When Schulz died many cartoonists paid him homage in their cartoon strips. I kept that paper. I just retrieved it from the box in which I keep it with other treasures. It is dated May 27, 2000 and it is in the Los Angeles Times. It covers 3 pages and there are 34 cartoon strips. I can give you the names of the cartoonists if you wish. So yes. We are HUGE Schulz fans! It's nice that you quoted him. Small world, isn't it? Happy Sunday Didge!:)
      February 5, 2017 2:57 AM MST
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  • That's a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it. 

    You and I seem to have a few things in common, Rosie. I'm rushing this morning (train to catch) but I'll see if I can dig out a cartoon I've used more than once on sites like this...

      February 5, 2017 11:32 AM MST
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