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Which oceans first opened as Pangea broke apart?
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Pangea
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins near the end of the Permian Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.
The first oceans to open as the supercontinent Pangea began to break apart approximately 180 million years ago were the central Atlantic Ocean, which formed between northwestern Africa and North America, and the southwestern Indian Ocean, which formed between Africa and Antarctica.1
While these were the first to open during the initial fragmentation, the process continued in distinct stages. For instance, the South Atlantic Ocean did not open until about 140 million years ago, when Africa and South America separated.21