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- Gondwana breakup: messages from the North Natal ValleyPublication . Moulin, Maryline; Aslanian, Daniel; Evain, Mikael; Lepretre, Angelique; Schnurle, Philippe; Verrier, Fanny; Thompson, Joseph; De Clarens, Philippe; LEROY, Sylvie; Dias, Nuno; Afilhado, Alexandra; Apprioul, R.; Bronner, A.; Castilla, R.; Corela, Carlos; Crozon, J.; Davy, C.; D'acremont, E.; Droz, Laurence; Duarte, J. L.; Fernagu, P.; Ferrant, A.; Fischer, M.; Franke, D.; Inguane, H.; Jorry, Stephan; Jouet, G.; Loureiro, Afonso; Le Bouteiller, P.; Le Bihan, C.; Mahanjane, S.; Moocroft, D.; Pelleau, P.; Picot, M.; Pierre, D.; Pitel, M.; Rabineau, M.; Rombe, C.; Roudaut, M.; Senkans, A.; Toucanne, SamuelThe Natal Valley, offshore Mozambique, is a key area for understanding the evolution of East Gondwana. Within the scope of the integrated multidisciplinary PAMELA project, we present new wide-angle seismic data and interpretations, which considerably alter Geoscience paradigms. These data reveal the presence of a 30-km-thick crust that we argue to be of continental nature. This falsifies all the most recent palaeo-reconstructions of the Gondwana. This 30-km-thick continental crust 1,000 m below sea level implies a complex history with probable intrusions of mantle-derived melts in the lower crust, connected to several occurrences of magmatism, which seems to evidence the crucial role of the lower continental crust in passive margin genesis.