The gash between the spreading continents gradually grew to form a new ocean basin, the Atlantic. Volcanic eruptions spewed ash and volcanic debris across the landscape as these severed continent-sized fragments of Pangea diverged. Rifting began as magma welled up through the weakness in the crust, creating a volcanic rift zone. They all existed as a single continent called Pangea. Pangea first began to be torn apart when a three-pronged fissure grew between Africa, South America, and North America.
From about 280-230 million years ago (Late Paleozoic Era until the Late Triassic), the continent we now know as North America was continuous with Africa, South America, and Europe.
