What if one day the continents joined together into one giant landmass again, and you could travel from North America to Africa on foot?What country would become your new neighbor? Would this cause natural disasters all over the planet? And how long would this new Pangaea last?This is WHAT IF, and here’s what would happen if the continents merged together.Did you know the land below you is actually moving right now? This is because all seven continents sit on the tectonic plates that Earth’s crust is broken into.These plates are floating on molten rock at about the same speed your fingernails grow. It may sound slow, but it does add up over hundreds of millions of years.In the 4.5-billion-year history of Earth, our continents have changed their appearance many times, sometimes fusing together in crunching collisions and sometimes breaking apart.Right now, they are slowly moving toward another collision. What if one day they suddenly sped up and smashed into a supercontinent again? Would you wake up to find yourself at the Mexican border?The world would look very different from what you’re used to. If the plates collided in the direction they are moving now, the flight from Australia to Asia would never be cheaper.Since Australia would collide with Japan, Korea and China, the two continents would no longer be separated by the Pacific Ocean. And if you’re really into walking, you’d also be able to travel from sunny Australia to the world’s coldest continent, Antarctica, on foot.North America would bump into western Africa. Citizens of New York might wake up to find Namibian lions roaming through Central Park.The northern part of Africa would crash into Europe. This would create a new Himalayan-scale mountain range on the border of the tectonic plates.Think camels would enjoy a chilly day on a snow hill?Some of these changes may sound fun, but there would be some really bad news, too. The eastern side of the Americas, along with Western Europe and Africa, would turn into an earthquake danger zone.On top of that, these areas would be devastated by the eruptions of newly formed volcanoes. The green slopes of the Appalachians would become giant, snow-covered mountains spewing ash and lava.This new Pangaea would mostly be arid and hot, as rain clouds would lose most of their moisture before getting too far inland. The supercontinent would be centered at the equator.Wildlife would become less diverse, as not all species can bear hot temperatures. But just like the most recent continental mashup, this reunion wouldn’t last forever.Well, not longer than 50 million years.Volcanic eruptions would spew out large amounts of lava and gas. Add devastating earthquakes to the equation, and you’d see these dangerous regions start to pull themselves apart.Stirred by hot currents below, the supercontinent would eventually break apart into smaller continents, going their separate ways. If bordering Australia looks like a cool thing to you, bad luck—you won’t see this happening anytime soon.But you can always imagine how the world would look if the giant continental pieces of the puzzle came together. Give the planet 300 million years, and there will be another supercontinent.Geologists have already given it a name: Pangaea Ultima. What would you name it?And if you’re puzzled about your WHAT IF, we’d be happy to give you a hypothetical solution. Leave your idea in the comments below!