Where Was India 250 Million Years Ago?
June 8, 2026
India today sits in the tropics, bounded by the Indian Ocean. But 250 million years ago, India was in a completely different part of the world, attached to Antarctica and Africa in the southern supercontinent Gondwana, well south of the equator.
India's Position on Pangea
At the time of Pangea, 250 million years ago, India was embedded in Gondwana between Antarctica to the south and Africa to the west, at roughly 50 to 65 degrees south latitude. This put it firmly in the polar region of the Earth, and the geological record confirms it: Permian glacial deposits are found across India, including in the Gondwana Supergroup rock formations that span much of the subcontinent.
The land that is now home to more than a billion people was cold, glaciated, and at the edge of a massive ice sheet. The flora was dominated by Glossopteris, the cold-adapted seed fern found across all Gondwana continents. Lystrosaurus, the small therapsid reptile, survived the Permian extinction and its fossils are found in India, Antarctica, Africa, and China.
Glacial Evidence in India
The Gondwana Supergroup of India preserves a remarkable record of this cold past. Tillites, which are rocks formed from ancient glacial sediments, are found across central and peninsular India. Glacial striations, the scratches left by moving ice on bedrock, have been documented in multiple Indian states.
This glacial evidence at latitudes that are now tropical was one of the key observations that convinced scientists of continental drift. The same glacial deposits appear in equivalent-age rocks in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, and South America, an impossible coincidence if the continents had always been in their current positions.
Glacial deposits and striations found across peninsular India are direct evidence that India was once near the South Pole, long before it raced northward to collide with Asia.
The Dramatic Journey North
After Pangea began to break apart, India separated from Africa and Antarctica around 130 million years ago and began an extraordinary journey northward across the Tethys Ocean. Moving at up to 20 centimeters per year, India traveled more than 8,000 kilometers in about 80 million years.
The collision with Asia around 50 million years ago built the Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth. The fossils of marine creatures from the Tethys Ocean seafloor can now be found at the summits of these mountains, carried there by the collision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was India near the South Pole 250 million years ago?
Yes. India was at approximately 50 to 65 degrees south latitude, near the edge of the Gondwana ice sheet, 250 million years ago.
How do we know where India was 250 million years ago?
Multiple lines of evidence confirm India's ancient polar position: glacial deposits, paleomagnetic measurements in ancient rocks, matching fossil assemblages with other Gondwana continents, and rock type correlations.
Why is India called a subcontinent?
India is called a subcontinent because it is a large, distinct landmass that sits on its own tectonic fragment, separated from the main Eurasian landmass by the Himalayas and the great rivers that drain them.