['< sod > the break - up of pangaea began in the central atlantic, between north america itself and northwest northwest africa, where rift basins that partially opened during the late triassic and early jurassic later became inactive. this transitional period also saw the first stages of the uplift of the atlas mountains. the exact timing is controversial, however, and estimates ranges from 200 to 170 & nbsp ; ma. < ref > { { harvnb | seton | muller | zahirovic | gaina | 2012 | loc = central atlantic, pp. 218, 220 } } < / written ref > < eod > < sod > the break - up of pangaea began in the central atlantic, between north america and northwest africa, where rift basins basins opened during the late triassic and late early jurassic. this period also saw the first various stages of the uplift of the atlas mountains. the exact chronological timing is controversial... with estimates ranging from 200 to 170 & nbsp ; ma. < ref > { { harvnb | seton | muller | zahirovic | gaina | 2012 | loc = central atlantic, pp. 218, 220 } } < / ref > < eod >']