In 'About This Site' I have outlined that the removal of the concept of Accretioin as the main planet forming process is one of the premises of this website, and its re-interpretation of the origin of the above rock shields and their subsequent continent pattern. It is generally understood that the Earth, and all celestial bodies, formed by accretion ( an increase in the mass of a celestial object by the collection of surrounding interstellar gases by gravity ), and have always retained their present diameters.

However, If accretion is taken out of the equation, a free form re-assembly of these original shields can be done which allows them to determine their own diameter.

In this instance ( in contrast to conventional plate-tectonic reconstuctions, made on a constant radius of the Earth's present 12,800 km diameter) these shields re-assemble into a smooth featureless sphere approximately 4,800 km in diameter ( or a diameter similar to that of Mercury. see: Mercury ). Their magnetic striping realigns into perfect parallel lines running equatorially.

But, more interestingly, there is a huge hole in the side of it, 2,000 km wide, between the Indian and African shields, exactly where the Himalayas are now.

Areas of present volcanic and earthquake activity realign and emanate from this hole, running around the sphere, along the North African and South American shield boundaries, meeting on the other side, at the antipode of the hole, at the point which will become the San Andreas Fault.

( The surface magnetic field used in this reconstruction is based on the World Magnetic Declination Field from 1995. Magnetic declination varies locally from year to year but is connected to the overall crustal or surface magnetic field which remains consistent )