Initial rifting along the Tethys Sea formed a northern continental mass, Laurasia, and a southern continental mass, Gondwanaland. Then plate movements caused North American and Eurasian separation coincidentally with the separation of South America, Africa, and India. Australia and Antarctica were the last to separate. The major plates are named after the dominant geographic feature on them such as the North American and South American plates. Plate motions are believed to have transported large crustal blocks several thousand miles, suturing very different terrains together after collision with a larger mass.
Some geologists believe that continents grow in size primarily by the addition of exotic terrains.