Pangaea begins to break
The supercontinent starts to tear along the line that becomes the Atlantic Ocean.
- When
- Known to
- ± 10 million years
- Era
- Triassic, Mesozoic
Rifting begins in the Late Triassic between what will become North America and Africa, opening a chain of basins from Nova Scotia to Morocco. These rift valleys fill with lake sediments and, later, salt. The break-up separates Laurasia from Gondwana and initiates the fragmentation that eventually produces the modern continental map.