The tectonic evolution of the Transantarctic Mountains appears to have begun when Antarctica broke away from Australia during the late Cretaceous and is ongoing, creating along the way some of the longest mountain ranges (at 3500 kilometers) formed by rift flank uplift and associated continental rifting. The Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) separate East and West Antarctica. The rift system that formed them is caused by a reactivation of crust along the East Antarctic Craton. This rifting or seafloor spreading causes plate movement that results in a nearby convergent boundary which then forms the mountain range. The exact processes responsible for making the Transantarctic Mountains are still debated today. This results in a large variety of proposed theories that attempt to decipher the tectonic history of these mountains.