Wanderlust World Wanderlust World When a continent rifts apart, the newly formed conjugate margins—now separated by an ocean basin—retain complementary shapes because they were once joined. Classic examples:
Rifting thins the lithosphere, creates a rift valley, then seafloor spreading forms new oceanic crust. The passive margins on either side preserve the "fit" for tens to hundreds of millions of years, modified only by sedimentation, erosion, and later tectonics.