The rocks of the main block of Avalonia as they relate to modern coasts and boundaries but in their relative positions as they were at the end of the Carboniferous, before Europe and North America separated again. The names are given in their French forms.

Avalonia was a microcontinent in the Paleozoic era. Crustal fragments of this former microcontinent underlie south-west Great Britain, and the eastern coast of North America. It is the source of many of the older rocks of Western Europe, Atlantic Canada, and parts of the coastal United States. Avalonia is named for the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland.

Avalonia developed as a volcanic arc on the northern margin of Gondwana. It eventually rifted off, becoming a drifting microcontinent. The Rheic Ocean formed behind it, and the Iapetus Ocean shrank in front. It collided with the continents Baltica, then Laurentia, and finally with Gondwana, ending up in the interior of Pangea. When Pangea broke up, Avalonia's remains were divided by the rift which became the Atlantic Ocean.

Development[link]

Schematic diagram of the paleogeographic evolution of Avalonia, Baltica and Laurentia. (Names in German.)

Location of the Caledonian/Acadian mountain chains in the Early Devonian Epoch. Present day coastlines are shown for reference. Red lines are sutures, capitalized names are the different continents/super-terranes that joined during the Caledonian orogeny.

The early development of Avalonia is believed to have been in volcanic arcs near a subduction zone on the margin of Gondwana.^[1] Some material may have accreted from volcanic island arcs which formed further out in the ocean and later collided with Gondwana as a result of plate tectonic movements. The igneous activity had started by 730 million years ago and continued until around 570 million years ago, in the late Neoproterozoic.^[2]

In the early Cambrian, the supercontinent Pannotia broke up and Avalonia drifted off northwards from Gondwana. This independent movement of Avalonia started from a latitude of about 60° South. The eastern end of Avalonia collided with Baltica, a continental plate occupying the latitudes from about 30°S to 55°S, as Baltica slowly rotated anticlockwise towards it. This happened at the end of the Ordovician and during the early Silurian.

In the late Silurian and lower Devonian, the combined Baltica and Avalonia collided progressively, with Laurentia, beginning with the long extremity of Avalonia which is now attached to the USA and Canada. The result of this was the formation of Euramerica. At the completion of this stage, the site of Britain was at 30°S and Nova Scotia at about 45°S. This collision is represented by the Caledonian folding or in North America as an early phase in the Acadian orogeny.

In the Permian, the new continent and another terrane, Armorica which included Iberia, drifted in from Gondwana, trapping Avalonia between it and the continent so adding Iberia/Armorica to Euramerica. This was followed up by the arrival of Gondwana. The effects of these collisions are seen in Europe as the Variscan folding. In North America it shows as later phases of the Acadian orogeny. This was happening at around the Equator during the later Carboniferous, forming Pangaea with Avalonia near its centre but partially flooded by shallow sea.

In the Jurassic, Pangaea split into Laurasia and Gondwana, with Avalonia as part of Laurasia. In the Cretaceous, Laurasia broke up into North America and Eurasia with Avalonia split between them.

Iberia was later rotated away again as the African part of Gondwana brushed past. This last movement caused the Alpine orogeny including the raising of the Pyrenees during the Miocene and Pliocene. As a result of this, part of Avalonia is now to be found on each side of the Straits of Gibraltar.

Consequences[link]

The Avalonian part of Great Britain almost exactly coincides with England and Wales. Elsewhere in Europe, parts of Avalonia are found in the Ardennes of Belgium and north-eastern France, north Germany, north-western Poland, south-eastern Ireland, the south-western edge of the Iberian Peninsula.

Part of the British-Belgian section formed an island in the Carboniferous, affecting the disposition of coalfields; this is known by names such as the 'London-Brabant Island'. Its bulk had an effect on the geological structure between the Ardennes and the English Midlands by influencing the subsequent crustal folding resulting from the Variscan collision.

In Canada, Avalonia comprises the Avalon Peninsula of southeast Newfoundland, southern New Brunswick, much of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island. In the United States, Avalonia comprises northern coastal Maine, all of Rhode Island, and other sections of coastal New England.

See also[link]

• Mistaken Point (Newfoundland and Labrador)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Map showing Avalonia in the Ordovician Period
• Relative positions of Avalonia and Gondwana

Najma Akhtar born in the UK, also known as Najma, is a British singer of Asian^[1] ancestry. She was born in 1964 Chelmsford, England.^[2][3]

Najma studied chemical engineering at Aston University, Birmingham: her father, brother and sister are also engineers.^[2] In 1984 she won the Birmingham Asian Song Contest, and in 1987 produced her first album.^[2]

Najma has been recognised by her work as a pioneer in using subtle jazz arrangements with the traditional South Asian vocal ghazal style. Following her unique and distinctive sound, Najma has inspired a new generation of musicians and composers to move into the fusion genre. Along with her fusion of subtle jazz nuances, Najma also performs Pakistani/Indian semi-classical, folk, sufi, bollywood, Indian underground, trance, along with the odd English song.

She has also appeared as a performer on stage and in songs and videos of other international famous singers/songwriters, such as the MTV No Quarter/Unledded performance with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page on the Led Zeppelin classic "Battle of Evermore", jazz vocalist Nina Simone, recording with Basement Jaxx, guitarist Andy Summers (The Police), Jah Wobble, and jazz and rock saxophonist Stan Harrison.^[4] Najma has also worked with saxophonist/flautist Michael J. Parlett

Discography[link]

• Ghazals, 1988
• Qareeb, 1989
• Atish, 1990
• Pukar, 1992
• Forbidden Kiss: the Songs of S. D. Burman, 1996
• Vivid, 2002.
• Fariyaad: A plea to the creator, 2008.
• Rishte, 2009.

Notable Collaborations[link]

• with Jah Wobble on his album Take Me to God
• with Andy Summers on his album The Golden Wire
• with Steve Coleman on his albums Black Science and A Tale of 3 Cities
• with Ken Morioka on his album in Japan titled Question
• with Apache Indian on his hit single titled Arranged Marriage
• with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (both formerly of Led Zeppelin) on the track "The Battle of Evermore" from their album No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
• with Jethro Tull on the title track from the album J-Tull Dot Com
• with La Cucina on their album Bloom
• with Sundae Club on their track Harold and their Stuff remix

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• biography at allmusic.com
• Najma's official web site

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