The Precambrian drift history and paleogeography of the Chinese cratons

China has three major Precambrian cratons, named the north China craton (NCC), the south China craton (SCC), and the Tarim craton. Each craton has some billion years of geological history. The authors of this chapter favor an NCC-N Australia connection for the interval between ~1.80 and ~1.32 Ga in the supercontinent Nuna/Columbia and an NCC-NW Laurentia connection between ~1.11 and 0.78 Ga in Rodinia, based on comprehensive analyses of geological and paleomagnetic data. High-quality paleomagnetic data indicate that the SCC had experienced a long journey from the north polar regions to the Equator between ~0.8 Ga and the early Cambrian and it was unlikely once located between Australian cratons and Laurentia in the center of Rodinia in that period. The SCC’s apparent polar wander path may contain a component of true polar wander that needs more precise age constraints. Two possible paleogeographic models, either by placing the Tarim craton against NW Australia or placing it in the center of Rodinia to be the link between Laurentia and the Australia-Mawson craton, were reviewed.