microcontinent
Small isolated landmass
A microcontinent is a fragment of continental crust significantly smaller than the major continents but distinct from oceanic crust.
These landmasses typically broke away from larger continents through tectonic rifting: Madagascar is a microcontinent that separated from Africa and India.
Zealandia, mostly submerged beneath the Pacific, and the Seychelles plateau are other examples.
The term also appears in speculative fiction for small isolated landmasses.
Earth's crust mobility theory
- riftingGeological spreading apart
- lithosphereCrust plus upper mantle
- crustHard outer layer
- mantleCovering or wrap
subduction · accretion · collision · orogeny · fault · spreading · divergence · convergence
Native to one area
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- isolationComplete separation from others
- dispersalSpreading in many directions
- biodiversityRange of life forms
evolution · fauna · flora · relict · colonization · marsupial · lemur · unique species
Fault-bounded crustal fragment
- cratonStable ancient continental core
- plateauFlat highland area
- shelfHorizontal storage surface
- emergentNewly come into existence
subaerial · granite · shield · block · massif · ridge · elevation · topography
Ancient southern supercontinent
- PangaeaPrehistoric unified landmass
- ZealandiaSubmerged continental fragment
- MadagascarAfrican island republic
- SeychellesEast African island country
Precambrian · Proterozoic · Paleozoic · Mesozoic · paleogeography · reconstruction · breakup · rifting
Submerged continental fragment
- sunkenDescended beneath water level
- submarineUnderwater naval craft
- seafloorOcean's solid base
- bathymetrySubaqueous topographical measurement
drowned · sediment · subsidence · sea level · core sample · drilling · abyssal · subaqueous
plate tectonics
Earth's crust mobility theory
- riftingGeological spreading apart
- lithosphereCrust plus upper mantle
- crustHard outer layer
mantle · subduction · accretion · collision · orogeny · fault · spreading · divergence · convergence · hotspot
endemic
Native to one area
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- isolationComplete separation from others
- dispersalSpreading in many directions
biodiversity · evolution · fauna · flora · relict · colonization · marsupial · lemur · unique species · biotic
terrane
Fault-bounded crustal fragment
emergent · subaerial · granite · shield · block · massif · ridge · elevation · topography · physiography
Gondwana
Ancient southern supercontinent
- PangaeaPrehistoric unified landmass
- ZealandiaSubmerged continental fragment
- MadagascarAfrican island republic
Seychelles · Precambrian · Proterozoic · Paleozoic · Mesozoic · paleogeography · reconstruction · breakup · rifting · fragmentation
Zealandia
Submerged continental fragment
bathymetry · drowned · sediment · subsidence · sea level · core sample · drilling · abyssal · subaqueous
microcontinentcontinent
Large connected landmass
supercontinent · mainland · Pangaea · Gondwana · craton
micro, continent, microcosm, microbe, microscope, microscopic, microorganism, microwave, microphone