Figure: Constraints on paleogeography from paleomagnetism.

Global paleomagnetic data can be summarized by paths of apparent polar wander (APWP) that track motions of lithospheric plates relative to the Earth's geographic pole.

The top panel shows the apparent motion of the south pole relative to Africa for the entire Phanerozoic (0-540 Ma) based on global paleomagnetic compilation of Torsvik et al. (2012).

The bottom panel illustrates the paleogeographic reconstruction of the supercontinent Pangea at 250 Ma. The absolute latitude and orientation of Pangea are constrained by rotating the entire supercontinent assemblage so that the 250 Ma paleomagnetic pole (highlighted in the top panel) falls exactly onto the south pole.