A new study published in Nature has revealed details of the catastrophic flood that refilled the Mediterranean Sea more than five million years ago. The flood occurred when Atlantic waters cut through into the Mediterranean basin which had dried up when Africa crashed into Iberia, drying out the trapped Mediterranean. The researchers say that a 200km channel across the Gibraltar strait was carved out by the floodwaters. It may have may involved peak rates of sea level rise in the Mediterranean of over 10 metres a day and may have taken just two years to fill up. Imagine the immense power of the waterfall at Gibraltar. BBC
See also: The biggest waterfall in geological history (with video)