When North America started moving away, rift lines were created. In the Connecticut River Valley, the rift created there had the potential of breaking apart and creating the Atlantic Ocean. The River Valley didn’t break apart but it got deeper because of the failed rifting. The Iapetus Ocean Basin was the rift that opened up instead of the Connecticut River Valley. The rift in this basin created the Atlantic Ocean. Today, most of the coastline is similar to the rifts created when all the continents were separating. While this was happening, sandstone and shale were being deposited in some of the rift basins. During the Jurassic, North America completely broke away from all other continents and began floating to the present day position. North America never again felt that strong tectonic
When North America started moving away, rift lines were created. In the Connecticut River Valley, the rift created there had the potential of breaking apart and creating the Atlantic Ocean. The River Valley didn’t break apart but it got deeper because of the failed rifting. The Iapetus Ocean Basin was the rift that opened up instead of the Connecticut River Valley. The rift in this basin created the Atlantic Ocean. Today, most of the coastline is similar to the rifts created when all the continents were separating. While this was happening, sandstone and shale were being deposited in some of the rift basins. During the Jurassic, North America completely broke away from all other continents and began floating to the present day position. North America never again felt that strong tectonic