Recall that 200 million years ago, all continents were joined as the single supercontinent, Pangea. The supercontinent initially broke up into two pieces: a northern landmass containing what is today Europe and North America and a southern one, Gondwana. The later breakup of Gondwana involved the separation of Antarctica from the other southern landmasses: Africa, South America, and India. As those continents separated 34 million years ago, they left Antarctica at the South Pole while they headed north. As they broke away, Antarctica became encircled by water. This water helped freeze the
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