Closing the last channel connecting the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, leading to the first drying during the Messinian salinity crisis. B and C) Rivers which previously drained to the Mediterranean excavated erosion gorges in the continental margins. D) evaporation of the Mediterranean led to saturation of the salt in its waters and precipitation of salt layers over a kilometer thick. E) In the deeper parts of the sea were lakes where water collected from the Mediterranean basin evaporated. The box recreates the mammalian transit across the Strait.
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Paubahi" title="User:Paubahi">Paubahi</a>
CC BY-SA 3.0
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>