Atlantica

Atlantica (Greek: Ατλαντικα; Atlantika) is an ancient continent that formed during the Proterozoic about 2,000 million years ago (two billion years ago, Ga) from various 2 Ga cratons located in what are now West Africa and eastern South America.

[1] The name, introduced by John Rogers in 1996,[1] was chosen because the parts of the ancient continent are now located on opposite sides of the South Atlantic Ocean.

[2] Atlantica and continents Nena and Ur and some minor plates formed the supercontinent Rodinia about 1 Ga ago.

[1] During this later stage, the Neoproterozoic era, a Brasiliano-Pan African orogenic system developed.

The central part of this system, the Araçuaí-West Congo orogen, has left a distinct pattern of deformations, still present on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.