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Slide Mountain Ocean

Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience

A view of Saunders Quarry in Pyrmont, Sydney, showing sandstone formations and the natural landscape.

The Slide Mountain Ocean was an ancient ocean between the Intermontane Islands and North America. It began around 245 million years ago during the Triassic period. The ocean was named after the Slide Mountain terrane, a group of rocks from the ocean floor.

Plate tectonics of the Intermontane Islands arc 195 million years ago

At the bottom of the Slide Mountain Ocean, there was a special area called a subduction zone. This was part of the Intermontane Trench, where the Intermontane Plate slowly moved under the edge of North America. Over time, the ocean’s floor was pushed up, shaping the land we see today.

Images

Animation showing how the ancient supercontinent Pangaea broke apart and the continents drifted to their current positions over millions of years.

Related articles

Ocean
North America
Triassic

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Slide Mountain Ocean, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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