Laurasia formed - the Atlantic Ocean, though Greenland (attached to North America) and Europe were still joined together. The separation of Europe and Greenland occurred around 55 million years ago (at the end of the Paleocene). Laurasia finally divided into the continents after which it is named: Laurentia (now North America) and Eurasia (excluding the Indian subcontinent). Laurasia Laurasia () was the more northern of two supercontinents (the other being Gondwana) that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent around (Mya). It separated from Gondwana (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pangaea, drifting farther north after the split.
Pangaea Gondwana drifted slowly towards the South Pole. This was the first step of the formation of Pangaea. The second step in the formation of Pangaea was the collision of Gondwana with Euramerica. By the Silurian, 440 Ma, Baltica had already collided with Laurentia, forming Euramerica. Avalonia had not yet collided with Laurentia, but as Avalonia inched towards Laurentia, the seaway between them, a remnant of the Iapetus Ocean, was slowly shrinking. Meanwhile, southern Europe broke off from Gondwana and began to move towards Euramerica across the newly formed Rheic Ocean. It collided with southern Baltica in the Devonian, though this