Dance of the Giant Continents:

In Geology, Rodinia is used to refer to a 'supercontinent' that formed and broke up in the Neoproterozoic

About 1.2 billion years ago, fragments of continental crust, pushed together by plate tectonic motion, began to assemble a giant continent.  Geologists affectionately use the term “Rodinia,” a Russian word meaning “homeland,” for this giant continent of so long ago.

Though the exact size and configuration of Rodinia are not known, rocks of ancestral North America, often called “Laurentia,”  very likely formed the core of the giant continent.   

Artist’s conception of the supercontinent Rodinia as it began to fragment 750 million years ago.  The future North America lies in the center of the surrounding lands. The breakup of this giant continent was the beginning of Pacific Northwest geologic history. Original painting by Tomo Narashima.