Cenozoic Era · Neogene Period
Earth 5 Million Years Ago: The Pliocene
Earth 5 million years ago: the Mediterranean has just refilled, the Americas are almost joined and early human relatives walk in Africa.
Spin it in 3D and move through timeMap: Ancient maps: PALEOMAP PaleoDEMs (Scotese & Wright 2018), CC BY 4.0 · Natural Earth.
About 5.33 million years ago the Atlantic broke through at Gibraltar and refilled the Mediterranean, which had largely dried out into a salt basin during the Messinian salinity crisis.
The Isthmus of Panama was rising and narrowing the seaway between the Americas; it closed for good about 2.8 million years ago. The climate was warmer than today, and Greenland had little permanent ice.
In Africa, early members of the human family such as Ardipithecus were walking upright, at least part of the time, in woodlands.
Events of the time
The Mediterranean dries out
5.6 million years ago · Strait of Gibraltar
When the Atlantic connection closed, the Mediterranean evaporated and left salt over 1 km thick. About 5.33 million years ago the Atlantic broke back in.
▶ Watch it happen on the globePanama closes
2.8 million years ago · Isthmus of Panama
The land bridge joined North and South America, let animals cross between them and rerouted ocean currents.
Part of the Cenozoic Era & The Quaternary Ice Ages.