How did the Gulf of Maine form? The geologic story of the Gulf of Maine

The Gulf of Maine began forming when the supercontinent Pangea started to break up.

190 million years ago

The Early Years

190 million years ago

190 million years ago

The Early Years

By roughly 50 million years ago, Pangea had broken up entirely and the Gulf of Maine had settled into its current location.

190 million years ago

The Early Years

By roughly 50 million years ago, Pangea had broken up entirely and the Gulf of Maine had settled into its current location.

Still, a major turning point that shaped the Gulf of Maine as we know it today had yet to occur….

190 million years ago

Roughly 18,000 years ago, during the last ice age, the Laurentide Ice Sheet approached the Gulf of Maine.

18,000 years ago

The Glacial Years

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

The Glacial Years

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

The Glacial Years

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

The Glacial Years

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

By the time the ice sheet advanced onto Maine, it had grown to be 1 mile thick!

1 MILE

The Glacial Years

Laurentide Ice Sheet

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

The glacier had picked up many rocks along its path, traveling all the way across northern North America. As it bulldozed into the Gulf of Maine, it dropped many of these rocks into the ocean.

1 MILE

The Glacial Years

Laurentide Ice Sheet

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

The ice sheet retreated completely from the Gulf of Maine roughly 13,000 years ago…

The Glacial Years

Laurentide Ice Sheet

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

…revealing the landscape and seafloor we see today!

13,000 years ago

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

13,000 years ago

The bulldozed rocks that the glacier left behind became the banks that shape the Gulf’s floor and drive the pattern of local ocean currents.

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

13,000 years ago

For example, nutrient-rich water from the Arctic tends to swell over George’s Bank, flooding the area with nutrients and making it one of the most important commercial fisheries in New England.

What two major geologic events helped shape the Gulf of Maine?

The Gulf of Maine began forming when the supercontinent Pangea started to break up.

190 million years ago

What two major geologic events helped shape the Gulf of Maine?

The Gulf of Maine began forming when the supercontinent Pangea started to break up.

190 million years ago

18,000 years ago

North American glaciers encroached on the Gulf of Maine during the last ice age, revealing the modern underwater landscape that shapes the Gulf of Maine today.

What two major geologic events helped shape the Gulf of Maine?

The Gulf of Maine today.