<P> When Rodinia broke up, it split into three pieces: the supercontinent of Proto - Laurasia, the supercontinent of Proto - Gondwana, and the smaller Congo craton . Proto - Laurasia and Proto - Gondwana were separated by the Proto - Tethys Ocean . Next Proto - Laurasia itself split apart to form the continents of Laurentia, Siberia and Baltica . Baltica moved to the east of Laurentia, and Siberia moved northeast of Laurentia . The splitting also created two new oceans, the Iapetus Ocean and Paleoasian Ocean . Most of the above masses coalesced again to form the relatively short - lived supercontinent of Pannotia . This supercontinent included large amounts of land near the poles and, near the equator, only a relatively small strip connecting the polar masses . Pannotia lasted until 540 Ma, near the beginning of the Cambrian period and then broke up, giving rise to the continents of Laurentia, Baltica, and the southern supercontinent of Gondwana . </P> <P> In the Cambrian period, the continent of Laurentia, which would later become North America, sat on the equator, with three bordering oceans: the Panthalassic Ocean to the north and west, the Iapetus Ocean to the south and the Khanty Ocean to the east . In the Earliest Ordovician, around 480 Ma, the microcontinent of Avalonia--a landmass incorporating fragments of what would become eastern Newfoundland, the southern British Isles, and parts of Belgium, northern France, Nova Scotia, New England, South Iberia and northwest Africa--broke free from Gondwana and began its journey to Laurentia . Baltica, Laurentia, and Avalonia all came together by the end of the Ordovician to form a minor supercontinent called Euramerica or Laurussia, closing the Iapetus Ocean . The collision also resulted in the formation of the northern Appalachians . Siberia sat near Euramerica, with the Khanty Ocean between the two continents . While all this was happening, Gondwana drifted slowly towards the South Pole . This was the first step of the formation of Pangaea . </P> <P> 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 microcontinent was an underwater plate . The Iapetus Ocean's sister ocean, the Khanty Ocean, shrank as an island arc from Siberia collided with eastern Baltica (now part of Euramerica). Behind this island arc was a new ocean, the Ural Ocean . </P> <P> By the late Silurian, North and South China split from Gondwana and started to head northward, shrinking the Proto - Tethys Ocean in their path and opening the new Paleo - Tethys Ocean to their south . In the Devonian Period, Gondwana itself headed towards Euramerica, causing the Rheic Ocean to shrink . In the Early Carboniferous, northwest Africa had touched the southeastern coast of Euramerica, creating the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountains, the Meseta Mountains and the Mauritanide Mountains . South America moved northward to southern Euramerica, while the eastern portion of Gondwana (India, Antarctica and Australia) headed toward the South Pole from the equator . North and South China were on independent continents . The Kazakhstania microcontinent had collided with Siberia . (Siberia had been a separate continent for millions of years since the deformation of the supercontinent Pannotia in the Middle Carboniferous .) </P>

Where were north & south america located within pangea