Cambrian geography

From Palaeos

Cambrian period 542-488
Early Cambrian 542-521		Middle Cambrian 521-501					Furongian 501-488
		Series 2 521-510		Series 3 510-501
Fortunian 542-535	Stage 2 535-521	Stage 3 521-517	Stage 4 517-510	Stage 5 510-506	Drumian 506-503	Guzhangian 503-501	Paibian 501-496	Stage 9 496-492	Stage 10 492-488
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The Cambrian period saw most continents located in the southern hemisphere at low paleolatitudes (near the equator). The Ediacaran supercontinent of Pannotia continued to assemble in some regions but fragmented into Gondwana, Laurentia, Baltica and various mostly submerged Asian blocks.

Laurentia stretched across the Cambrian equator, partly submerged by the Iapetus ocean, with a mostly submerged Baltica and Siberia approaching from the South-East.

Gondwana remained the largest supercontinent. Other continents included Kazakhstania and China (actually China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indochina). Seas were for the most part shallow, especially along the edges of the continents.

Global (eustatic) transgressions occured in the Middle and Late Cambrian, as shallow seas repeatedly invaded the land, providing a perfect habitat for many types of marine invertebrates. These shallow epeiric seas covered much of the continents except for Gondwana, where there were highlands. Other highlands could be found in Eastern Siberia and Central Kazakhstan.