Editing Paleogene (section)

=== Antarctica ===
Slow seafloor spreading continued between Australia and East Antarctica. Shallow water channels probably developed south of Tasmania opening the [[Tasmanian Passage]] in the Eocene and deep ocean routes opening from the mid Oligocene. Rifting between the Antarctic Peninsula and the southern tip of South America formed the [[Drake Passage]] and opened the Southern Ocean also during this time, completing the breakup of Gondwana. The opening of these passages and the creation of the Southern Ocean established the [[Antarctic Circumpolar Current]]. [[Glacier|Glaciers]] began to build across the Antarctica continent that now lay isolated in the south polar region and surrounded by cold ocean waters. These changes contributed to the fall in global temperatures and the beginning of icehouse conditions.<ref name=":13" />[[File:Paleogene flood basalts, Ethiopia.jpg|thumb|Paleogene flood basalts on the Ethiopian Plateau with the Afar Depression in the background.|alt=Photo of a cliff face showing layers of basalt lava flows]]