East Antarctic craton

East Antarctica with Australia (top) during the early Paleozoic

The East Antarctic craton is an ancient craton that forms most of Antarctica. The East Antarctic craton was part of the Nena supercontinent 1.8 billion years ago.

During the early Paleozoic Era East Antarctica joined the Gondwana supercontinent.

Breakup

During the Mesozoic breakup of Gondwanaland, East Antarctica separated from other major continental areas.

During and following this breakup the tectonic terranes of West Antarctica were added to form the current continent of Antarctica.

References

• Stanford University abstract