Sketchplanations

Get my new weekly sketch in your inbox

Join over 30,000 people learning something new in a moment each Sunday.

3 illustrations showing Africa pushing into Europe, a giant rushing of the Atlantic filling the basin of the Mediterranean, and the map of how the Mediterranean sea appears today

The making of the Med

The Mediterranean sea was formed kind of how you think it might have happened from just looking at a world map — the mighty Atlantic ocean breaking free to fill up the giant basin from the African continent pushing into Europe.

Boy, this would have been spectacular.

I imagine it somewhat like the footage of when the sea reclaimed a tin mine in Malaysia in a few short minutes. Or when the waves finally overcame the walls of my sandcastle, just at a staggering scale.

You’re welcome to use and share this image and text for non-commercial purposes with attribution. Go wild!
See licence

Buy Me A Coffee