# The Making of the Rock - a geological light show of Gibraltar

> A free, non-commercial light show of how the Rock of Gibraltar was made:
> 200 million years in sixteen scenes and about five minutes. It starts on a
> Jurassic sea floor and follows the Rock as it is built, buried, folded upside
> down, lifted, cut off from the Atlantic, flooded, carved into caves and
> finally left standing at the gate of the Mediterranean. It is inspired by the
> light show in St Michael's Cave.

Live show: https://gibraltarshow.gaborszabopoker.com/
Made by Gabor Szabo. English only. Not affiliated with any government,
museum or tourism body.

## Who it is for

- Visitors to Gibraltar, before or after a trip to the Rock, St Michael's Cave
  or Gorham's Cave
- Teachers and students who want a short, sourced story of how a mountain is
  made: plate tectonics, a dried-up sea, ice ages and sea level
- Anyone curious about the geology of the Strait of Gibraltar and the
  Mediterranean
- Researchers and writers who want a quick overview with a full reference
  list behind every scene

## How to use it

- Press "Begin the show". It then plays by itself, scene after scene, with a
  short text, the date, an uncertainty note and the sources for each scene.
  There is no sound.
- Play/pause button, or the space bar. Previous/next buttons, or the left and
  right arrow keys, jump a scene.
- The timeline at the bottom can be dragged, and each tick jumps to a scene.
- "Sources" opens the sources of the current scene; the full list is at
  /sources.txt.
- On phones the text panel sits under the picture, and a lighter version of
  the 3D Rock is used automatically on small, slower devices.
- Links into the show: ?p=<scene position>, counted from 0 (for example
  ?p=12 starts at scene 13, ?p=5.7 is 70 % through scene 6). ?clean hides the
  interface, ?low forces the lighter 3D Rock.

## The sixteen scenes

Each scene is labelled on screen with the kind of picture it is.

1. Pangaea cracks open - c. 201-190 million years ago (palaeomap, schematic)
2. A tropical sea floor - c. 199-193 million years ago, Sinemurian
   (cross-section, schematic)
3. The platform drowns - c. 190-180 million years ago (cross-section,
   schematic)
4. Africa turns towards Europe - from c. 120-83 to c. 35 million years ago
   (palaeomap, schematic)
5. The great roll-back - c. 30-10 million years ago (palaeomap, schematic)
6. Turned upside down - c. 23-15 million years ago, Early Miocene
   (cross-section, interpretive)
7. Lifted and laid bare - c. 15 million years ago to today (real surface
   profile, schematic rocks)
8. The sea that dried up - 5.97-5.33 million years ago, Messinian Salinity
   Crisis (palaeomap, schematic)
9. The Atlantic breaks in - 5.33 million years ago, the Zanclean flood (GEBCO
   sea floor, simulated water level)
10. Steps cut by the sea - Pleistocene; lowest steps under 250,000 years old (real
    terrain, illustrative uplift, published terrace heights)
11. Water carves the caves - Pleistocene to today (cross-section, schematic
    caves)
12. The sea breathes - c. 450,000-30,000 years ago (real terrain, global
    sea-level curve)
13. Neanderthal shores - c. 50,000-30,000 years ago (real terrain, sea at
    about -75 m)
14. The last glacial maximum - c. 26,000-19,000 years ago (GEBCO, sea level
    -125 m)
15. The sea comes back - c. 19,000 years ago to today (real terrain, rising
    sea)
16. The Rock today - Africa still converges on Europe at about 4-6 mm a year
    (real terrain, today)

## What a crawler should know

The show is drawn at run time in the browser, on 2D canvases and in WebGL
(three.js). index.html carries the page text and a short description, but
not the pictures; the data files in /data/ (a height grid of the Rock, a
sea-floor grid of the Strait, palaeomap outlines) mean little without the
viewer. To understand the show, read this file and /sources.txt.

## How scientific it is

We tried to be as scientific as possible, and to be honest about where the
science stops:

- Every scene rests on published research, cited on screen, and carries a
  short note on what is uncertain or debated (for example how far the
  Mediterranean fell in the Messinian, how long the Zanclean flood lasted,
  when the last Neanderthals lived at Gorham's Cave).
- What is measured: the shape of the Rock (a 4 m height grid of today's Rock
  from public LiDAR, shown at 8 m), today's sea floor (GEBCO 2025) and the
  published heights of the raised beaches and sea-level stands.
- What is reconstruction or illustration: the palaeomaps move today's
  coastlines as rigid blocks; the cross-sections are schematic drawings, not
  balanced geological sections; the fold that turns the Rock over is a drawing
  device; the Rock rising out of the sea is illustrative; the cave positions
  are schematic; past sea levels are drawn on today's sea floor, ignoring the
  sediment and uplift since; the sea-level curve is a simplified sketch of
  the published global curves, not the data itself.
- The references were checked against publisher, indexer and repository pages
  when the show was built; before publication every DOI was also checked in
  Crossref (and DataCite for GEBCO), and all resolved to the work cited.
  /sources.txt says how far each check went and which claim rests on which
  source.

## References (72)

The same list, with check levels and a claim-by-claim table, is at
https://gibraltarshow.gaborszabopoker.com/sources.txt

- Bache, F. et al. (2012). A two-step process for the reflooding of the
  Mediterranean after the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Basin Research 24(2),
  125–153. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2011.00521.x
  (scenes: 9 The Atlantic breaks in; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Bosence, D.W.J., Wood, J.L., Rose, E.P.F. & Qing, H. (2000). Low- and
  high-frequency sea-level changes control peritidal carbonate cycles, facies
  and dolomitization in the Rock of Gibraltar (Early Jurassic, Iberian
  Peninsula). Journal of the Geological Society 157(1), 61–74.
  https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs.157.1.61
  (scenes: 2 A tropical sea floor; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- BouDagher-Fadel, M.K., Rose, E.P.F., Bosence, D.W.J. & Lord, A.R. (2001).
  Lower Jurassic foraminifera and calcified microflora from Gibraltar, western
  Mediterranean. Palaeontology 44(4), 601–621. (DOI not retrieved; abstract
  page.) https://www.palass.org/node/2545
  (scenes: 2 A tropical sea floor; check: exists; some details unconfirmed)
- Cáceres, L.M., Rodríguez Vidal, J., Abad, M., Ruiz, F., Finlayson, C.,
  Finlayson, G., Fa, D. & Muñiz, F. (2013). Modelo de construcción de dunas
  topográficas pleistocenas en la costa oriental de Gibraltar. In: El
  Cuaternario Ibérico: Investigación en el s. XXI, AEQUA, 155–158. (Conference
  volume, no DOI.)
  (scenes: 12 The sea breathes; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Capella, W., Spakman, W., van Hinsbergen, D.J.J., Chertova, M.V. &
  Krijgsman, W. (2020). Mantle resistance against Gibraltar slab dragging as a
  key cause of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Terra Nova 32(2), 141–150.
  https://doi.org/10.1111/ter.12442
  (scenes: 8 The sea that dried up; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Carrión, J.S., Finlayson, C. et al. (2008). A coastal reservoir of
  biodiversity for Upper Pleistocene human populations: palaeoecological
  investigations in Gorham's Cave (Gibraltar) in the context of the Iberian
  Peninsula. Quaternary Science Reviews 27(23–24), 2118–2135.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.08.016
  (scenes: 13 Neanderthal shores; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Chertova, M.V., Spakman, W., Geenen, T., van den Berg, A.P. & van
  Hinsbergen, D.J.J. (2014). Underpinning tectonic reconstructions of the
  western Mediterranean region with dynamic slab evolution from 3-D numerical
  modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 119(7), 5876–5902.
  https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JB011150
  (scenes: 5 The great roll-back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Clark, P.U., Dyke, A.S., Shakun, J.D. et al. (2009). The Last Glacial
  Maximum. Science 325, 710–714. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172873
  (scenes: 14 The last glacial maximum; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- DeMets, C., Gordon, R.G. & Argus, D.F. (2010). Geologically current plate
  motions. Geophysical Journal International 181, 1–80.
  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04491.x
  (scenes: 16 The Rock today; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Durand-Delga, M., Gardin, S., Esteras, M. & Paquet, H. (2005). Le domaine
  Tariquide (arc de Gibraltar, Espagne et Maroc) : succession sédimentaire et
  événements structuraux au Lias et au Dogger. Comptes Rendus Geoscience
  337(8), 787–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crte.2005.03.009
  (scenes: 3 The platform drowns; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Durand-Delga, M., Esteras, M. & Olivier, P. (2007). Los «Taríquides» (Arco
  de Gibraltar): problemas estructurales, paleogeográficos y consideración
  histórica. Revista de la Sociedad Geológica de España 20(3–4), 119–134. (No
  DOI.) https://sge.usal.es/archivos/REV/20(3-4)/Art01.pdf
  (scenes: 4 Africa turns towards Europe; 6 Turned upside down; check:
   metadata matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Estrada, F. et al. (2011). Impact of pulsed Atlantic water inflow into the
  Alboran Basin at the time of the Zanclean flooding. Geo-Marine Letters 31,
  361–376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-011-0249-8
  (scenes: 9 The Atlantic breaks in; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Faccenna, C., Piromallo, C., Crespo-Blanc, A., Jolivet, L. & Rossetti, F.
  (2004). Lateral slab deformation and the origin of the western Mediterranean
  arcs. Tectonics 23, TC1012. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002TC001488
  (scenes: 5 The great roll-back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Finlayson, C. et al. (2006). Late survival of Neanderthals at the
  southernmost extreme of Europe. Nature 443, 850–853.
  https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05195
  (scenes: 13 Neanderthal shores; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Flecker, R. et al. (2015). Evolution of the Late Miocene
  Mediterranean–Atlantic gateways and their impact on regional and global
  environmental change. Earth-Science Reviews 150, 365–392.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.08.007
  (scenes: 7 Lifted and laid bare; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Frasca, G., Gueydan, F. & Brun, J.-P. (2015). Structural record of Lower
  Miocene westward motion of the Alboran Domain in the Western Betics, Spain.
  Tectonophysics 657, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2015.05.017
  (scenes: 5 The great roll-back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Frizon de Lamotte, D., Fourdan, B., Leleu, S., Leparmentier, F. & de
  Clarens, P. (2015). Style of rifting and the stages of Pangea breakup.
  Tectonics 34(5), 1009–1029. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014TC003760
  (scenes: 1 Pangaea cracks open; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Garcia-Castellanos, D., Estrada, F., Jiménez-Munt, I., Gorini, C.,
  Fernàndez, M., Vergés, J. & De Vicente, R. (2009). Catastrophic flood of the
  Mediterranean after the Messinian salinity crisis. Nature 462, 778–781.
  https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08555
  (scenes: 9 The Atlantic breaks in; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Garcia-Castellanos, D. et al. (2020). The Zanclean megaflood of the
  Mediterranean – Searching for independent evidence. Earth-Science Reviews
  201, 103061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.103061
  (scenes: 9 The Atlantic breaks in; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Gea, P.J., Negredo, A.M. & Mancilla, F. de L. (2023). The Gibraltar slab
  dynamics and its influence on past and present-day Alboran domain
  deformation: insights from thermo-mechanical numerical modelling. Frontiers
  in Earth Science 11, 995041. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.995041
  (scenes: 5 The great roll-back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- GEBCO Compilation Group (2025). GEBCO 2025 Grid. Public domain; not for
  navigation. https://doi.org/10.5285/37c52e96-24ea-67ce-e063-7086abc05f29
  (scenes: 10 Steps cut by the sea; 12 The sea breathes; 14 The last glacial
   maximum; 15 The sea comes back; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Gutscher, M.-A., Malod, J., Rehault, J.-P., Contrucci, I., Klingelhoefer,
  F., Mendes-Victor, L. & Spakman, W. (2002). Evidence for active subduction
  beneath Gibraltar. Geology 30(12), 1071–1074. (Author list differs between
  indexes.) https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<1071:EFASBG>2.0.CO;2
  (scenes: 16 The Rock today; check: exists; some details unconfirmed)
- Gutscher, M.-A. et al. (2012). The Gibraltar subduction: A decade of new
  geophysical data. Tectonophysics 574–575, 72–91.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2012.08.038
  (scenes: 16 The Rock today; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Hoffmann, D., Mattey, D., Atkinson, T., Boyd, M. & Müller, W. (2023). A
  Gibraltar speleothem record of environment and regional climate for the last
  glacial period. EGU General Assembly 2023, abstract EGU23-12002. (Conference
  abstract, not peer reviewed.)
  https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU23/EGU23-12002.html
  (scenes: 11 Water carves the caves; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Hsü, K.J., Ryan, W.B.F. & Cita, M.B. (1973). Late Miocene desiccation of the
  Mediterranean. Nature 242, 240–244. https://doi.org/10.1038/242240a0
  (scenes: 8 The sea that dried up; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- International Commission on Stratigraphy (2024). International
  Chronostratigraphic Chart, v2024/12 (Cohen, K.M., Finney, S.C., Gibbard,
  P.L. & Fan, J.-X., 2013, updated). (Stage boundaries (e.g. Sinemurian
  199.5–192.9 Ma, base Pliocene 5.333 Ma).)
  https://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2024-12.pdf
  (scenes: 2 A tropical sea floor; 3 The platform drowns; check: exists; some
   details unconfirmed)
- Krijgsman, W., Hilgen, F.J., Raffi, I., Sierro, F.J. & Wilson, D.S. (1999).
  Chronology, causes and progression of the Messinian salinity crisis. Nature
  400, 652–655. https://doi.org/10.1038/23231
  (scenes: 8 The sea that dried up; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Krijgsman, W. et al. (2018). The Gibraltar Corridor: Watergate of the
  Messinian Salinity Crisis. Marine Geology 403, 238–246.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2018.06.008
  (scenes: 7 Lifted and laid bare; 8 The sea that dried up; check: metadata
   matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Krijgsman, W., Rohling, E.J., Palcu, D.V. et al. (2024). Causes and
  consequences of the Messinian salinity crisis. Nature Reviews Earth &
  Environment 5, 335–350. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00533-1
  (scenes: 8 The sea that dried up; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Labails, C., Olivet, J.-L., Aslanian, D. & Roest, W.R. (2010). An
  alternative early opening scenario for the Central Atlantic Ocean. Earth and
  Planetary Science Letters 297, 355–368.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2010.06.024
  (scenes: 1 Pangaea cracks open; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Lambeck, K., Rouby, H., Purcell, A., Sun, Y. & Sambridge, M. (2014). Sea
  level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111(43), 15296–15303.
  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1411762111
  (scenes: 12 The sea breathes; 14 The last glacial maximum; 15 The sea comes
   back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Loget, N. & Van Den Driessche, J. (2006). On the origin of the Strait of
  Gibraltar. Sedimentary Geology 188–189, 341–356.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2006.03.012
  (scenes: 9 The Atlantic breaks in; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Lonergan, L. & White, N. (1997). Origin of the Betic-Rif mountain belt.
  Tectonics 16(3), 504–522. https://doi.org/10.1029/96TC03937
  (scenes: 5 The great roll-back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Manzi, V., Gennari, R., Hilgen, F., Krijgsman, W., Lugli, S., Roveri, M. &
  Sierro, F.J. (2013). Age refinement of the Messinian salinity crisis onset
  in the Mediterranean. Terra Nova 25, 315–322.
  https://doi.org/10.1111/ter.12038
  (scenes: 8 The sea that dried up; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Mattey, D., Lowry, D., Duffet, J., Fisher, R., Hodge, E. & Frisia, S.
  (2008). A 53 year seasonally resolved oxygen and carbon isotope record from
  a modern Gibraltar speleothem. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 269(1–2),
  80–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2008.01.051
  (scenes: 11 Water carves the caves; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Micallef, A. et al. (2018). Evidence of the Zanclean megaflood in the
  eastern Mediterranean Basin. Scientific Reports 8, 1078.
  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19446-3
  (scenes: 9 The Atlantic breaks in; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Muñiz, F., Cáceres, L.M., Rodríguez-Vidal, J. et al. (2019). Following the
  last Neanderthals: Mammal tracks in Late Pleistocene coastal dunes of
  Gibraltar (S Iberian Peninsula). Quaternary Science Reviews 217, 297–309.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.01.013
  (scenes: 12 The sea breathes; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Natural Earth. 1:50m land polygons. Public domain.
  https://www.naturalearthdata.com/
  (scenes: —; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Nocquet, J.-M. (2012). Present-day kinematics of the Mediterranean: a
  comprehensive overview of GPS results. Tectonophysics 579, 220–242.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2012.03.037
  (scenes: 16 The Rock today; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Oxford University Cave Club (1983). St Michael's Cave, Gibraltar.
  Proceedings of the OUCC 11.
  https://caving.materials.ox.ac.uk/procs/proc11/st_michaels.htm
  (scenes: 11 Water carves the caves; check: secondary source only)
- Owen, E.F. & Rose, E.P.F. (1997). Early Jurassic brachiopods from Gibraltar,
  and their Tethyan affinities. Palaeontology 40(2), 497–513. (No DOI
  (pre-Wiley volume); also in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.)
  https://www.palass.org/product/458
  (scenes: 1 Pangaea cracks open; 2 A tropical sea floor; 3 The platform
   drowns; 6 Turned upside down; 7 Lifted and laid bare; check: metadata
   matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Platt, J.P. & Vissers, R.L.M. (1989). Extensional collapse of thickened
  continental lithosphere: a working hypothesis for the Alboran Sea and
  Gibraltar arc. Geology 17(6), 540–543.
  https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017<0540:ECOTCL>2.3.CO;2
  (scenes: 5 The great roll-back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Platt, J.P., Behr, W.M., Johanesen, K. & Williams, J.R. (2013). The
  Betic-Rif arc and its orogenic hinterland: a review. Annual Review of Earth
  and Planetary Sciences 41, 313–357.
  https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-050212-123951
  (scenes: —; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Qing, H., Bosence, D.W.J. & Rose, E.P.F. (2001). Dolomitization by
  penesaline sea water in Early Jurassic peritidal platform carbonates,
  Gibraltar, western Mediterranean. Sedimentology 48(1), 153–163.
  https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3091.2001.00361.x
  (scenes: 2 A tropical sea floor; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Rock of Gibraltar 4 m height grid, prepared by the author from public LiDAR
  (Gibraltar and Spain). (The author's own data.)
  (scenes: 7 Lifted and laid bare; 10 Steps cut by the sea; 15 The sea comes
   back; 16 The Rock today; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Rose, E.P.F. & Rosenbaum, M.S. (1991). A Field Guide to the Geology of
  Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Museum, 192 pp. (Book; known through citing works.
  Source of the formation names and their order.)
  (scenes: 2 A tropical sea floor; 3 The platform drowns; check: secondary
   source only)
- Rose, E.P.F. & Rosenbaum, M.S. (1991). The Rock of Gibraltar. Geology Today
  7(3), 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2451.1991.tb00772.x
  (scenes: 6 Turned upside down; check: exists; some details unconfirmed)
- Rose, E.P.F. (2014). British pioneers of the geology of Gibraltar, Part 3:
  E. B. Bailey and Royal Engineers 1943 to 1953. Earth Sciences History 33(2),
  294–332. https://doi.org/10.17704/eshi.33.2.41034242256m4671
  (scenes: 6 Turned upside down; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Rose, E.P.F. (2016). The Rock of Gibraltar re-visited. Geology Today 32(3),
  99–106. https://doi.org/10.1111/gto.12139
  (scenes: 6 Turned upside down; 7 Lifted and laid bare; check: metadata
   matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Rosenbaum, G., Lister, G.S. & Duboz, C. (2002). Reconstruction of the
  tectonic evolution of the western Mediterranean since the Oligocene. Journal
  of the Virtual Explorer 8, 107–126.
  https://doi.org/10.3809/jvirtex.2002.00053
  (scenes: 5 The great roll-back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Rosenbaum, G., Lister, G.S. & Duboz, C. (2002). Relative motions of Africa,
  Iberia and Europe during Alpine orogeny. Tectonophysics 359(1–2), 117–129.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-1951(02)00442-0
  (scenes: 4 Africa turns towards Europe; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Roveri, M., Flecker, R., Krijgsman, W. et al. (2014). The Messinian Salinity
  Crisis: past and future of a great challenge for marine sciences. Marine
  Geology 352, 25–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2014.02.002
  (scenes: 8 The sea that dried up; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Roveri, M., Lugli, S. & Manzi, V. (2025). The desiccation and catastrophic
  refilling of the Mediterranean: 50 years of facts, hypotheses, and myths
  around the Messinian salinity crisis. Annual Review of Marine Science 17,
  485–509. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-021723-110155
  (scenes: 8 The sea that dried up; 9 The Atlantic breaks in; check: metadata
   matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Ruiz-Ortiz, P.A., Bosence, D.W.J., Rey, J., Nieto, L.M., Castro, J.M. &
  Molina, J.M. (2004). Tectonic control of facies architecture, sequence
  stratigraphy and drowning of a Liassic carbonate platform (Betic Cordillera,
  Southern Spain). Basin Research 16(2), 235–257.
  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2004.00231.x
  (scenes: 3 The platform drowns; check: exists; some details unconfirmed)
- Rodríguez-Vidal, J., Cáceres, L.M., Finlayson, J.C., Gracia, F.J. &
  Martínez-Aguirre, A. (2004). Neotectonics and shoreline history of the Rock
  of Gibraltar, southern Iberia. Quaternary Science Reviews 23(18–19),
  2017–2029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.02.008
  (scenes: 6 Turned upside down; 7 Lifted and laid bare; 10 Steps cut by the
   sea; 11 Water carves the caves; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Rodríguez-Vidal, J., Cáceres, L.M., Abad, M., Ruiz, F. & Martínez-Aguirre,
  A. (2007). Morphosedimentary evidence of the Last Interglacial Maximum on
  the coast of Governor's Beach, Gibraltar. Geogaceta 42, 107–110. (No DOI.)
  (scenes: 10 Steps cut by the sea; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Rodríguez-Vidal, J. et al. (2010). Las arenas eólicas del Pleistoceno
  Superior en Gibraltar. Geogaceta 48, 27–30. (No DOI; full author list not
  retrieved.)
  (scenes: 12 The sea breathes; check: exists; some details unconfirmed)
- Rodríguez-Vidal, J., Finlayson, G., Finlayson, C. et al. (2013). Undrowning
  a lost world — The Marine Isotope Stage 3 landscape of Gibraltar.
  Geomorphology 203, 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.02.015
  (scenes: 13 Neanderthal shores; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Rodríguez-Vidal, J. et al. (2014). A rock engraving made by Neanderthals in
  Gibraltar. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111(37),
  13301–13306. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1411529111
  (scenes: 13 Neanderthal shores; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Sahabi, M., Aslanian, D. & Olivet, J.-L. (2004). A new starting point for
  the history of the central Atlantic. Comptes Rendus Geoscience 336(12),
  1041–1052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crte.2004.03.017
  (scenes: 1 Pangaea cracks open; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Sallarès, V. et al. (2011). Seismic evidence for the presence of Jurassic
  oceanic crust in the central Gulf of Cadiz (SW Iberian margin). Earth and
  Planetary Science Letters 311(1–2), 112–123.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2011.09.003
  (scenes: 1 Pangaea cracks open; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Schettino, A. & Turco, E. (2011). Tectonic history of the western Tethys
  since the Late Triassic. GSA Bulletin 123(1–2), 89–105.
  https://doi.org/10.1130/B30064.1
  (scenes: 1 Pangaea cracks open; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Spakman, W., Chertova, M.V., van den Berg, A. & van Hinsbergen, D.J.J.
  (2018). Puzzling features of western Mediterranean tectonics explained by
  slab dragging. Nature Geoscience 11, 211–216.
  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0066-z
  (scenes: 16 The Rock today; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Spratt, R.M. & Lisiecki, L.E. (2016). A Late Pleistocene sea level stack.
  Climate of the Past 12, 1079–1092. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-1079-2016
  (scenes: 12 The sea breathes; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Stringer, C.B., Finlayson, J.C., Barton, R.N.E. et al. (2008). Neanderthal
  exploitation of marine mammals in Gibraltar. Proceedings of the National
  Academy of Sciences 105(38), 14319–14324.
  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0805474105
  (scenes: 13 Neanderthal shores; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Gorham's Cave Complex (site 1500), inscribed
  2016. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1500
  (scenes: 13 Neanderthal shores; check: secondary source only)
- Vacchi, M., Marriner, N., Morhange, C., Spada, G., Fontana, A. & Rovere, A.
  (2016). Multiproxy assessment of Holocene relative sea-level changes in the
  western Mediterranean. Earth-Science Reviews 155, 172–197.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.02.002
  (scenes: 15 The sea comes back; check: metadata matched on publisher/indexer
   pages)
- Van Couvering, J.A., Castradori, D., Cita, M.B., Hilgen, F.J. & Rio, D.
  (2000). The base of the Zanclean Stage and of the Pliocene Series. Episodes
  23(3), 179–187. https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2000/v23i3/005
  (scenes: 9 The Atlantic breaks in; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- van Hinsbergen, D.J.J., Vissers, R.L.M. & Spakman, W. (2014). Origin and
  consequences of western Mediterranean subduction, rollback, and slab
  segmentation. Tectonics 33(4), 393–419. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013TC003349
  (scenes: 4 Africa turns towards Europe; 5 The great roll-back; check:
   metadata matched on publisher/indexer pages)
- Vergés, J. & Fernàndez, M. (2012). Tethys–Atlantic interaction along the
  Iberia–Africa plate boundary: The Betic–Rif orogenic system. Tectonophysics
  579, 144–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2012.08.032
  (scenes: 4 Africa turns towards Europe; check: metadata matched on
   publisher/indexer pages)
- Visit Gibraltar. What to See (brochure): St Michael's Cave and its light
  show, "The Awakening".
  https://visitgibraltar.gi/uploads/Brochures/WHAT%20TO%20SEE%20(ENGLISH).pdf
  (scenes: 11 Water carves the caves; 16 The Rock today; check: secondary
   source only)
- Zilhão, J. & Pettitt, P. (2006). On the new dates for Gorham's Cave and the
  late survival of Iberian Neanderthals. Before Farming 2006, article 3, 1–9.
  (No DOI found; issue number inconsistent between listings.)
  (scenes: 13 Neanderthal shores; check: exists; some details unconfirmed)

## Data and licences

- Rock height grid: the author's own 4 m grid of the Rock, from public LiDAR
  of Gibraltar and Spain
- GEBCO 2025 Grid, 15 arc-second: GEBCO Compilation Group (2025), public
  domain, not for navigation,
  https://doi.org/10.5285/37c52e96-24ea-67ce-e063-7086abc05f29
- Natural Earth 1:50m land: public domain, https://www.naturalearthdata.com/
- three.js: MIT licence, https://threejs.org/

## Use and credit

Everyone is welcome to use, share, quote, link to and learn from this show
and its text, AI training included. A credit to "Gabor Szabo,
gibraltarshow.gaborszabopoker.com" is appreciated. The papers cited belong to
their authors and publishers, and the data sets keep their own licences.

## What it does NOT claim

The show is a short, simplified story, not a geological map or a research
result. The palaeomaps and cross-sections are schematic; where Gibraltar's
rocks lay in the Jurassic, how far the Alboran block moved, how far the
Mediterranean fell and how fast it refilled are all debated, and the show
says so in each scene. Nothing is presented as measured that is not.

## Related

All free, all by Gabor Szabo:

- Gibraltar Through Deep Time - the same 200 million years as a realistic 3D
  geology map with a 13-stop guided tour,
  https://gibraltargeology.gaborszabopoker.com/
- Gibraltar 45,000 Years Ago - a realistic 3D map of Neanderthal Gibraltar,
  https://gibraltar45k.gaborszabopoker.com/
- Inside the Rock - today's Gibraltar in 3D, tunnels and all,
  https://gibraltarmap.gaborszabopoker.com/