 It has an estimated length of 3000 km and a width of approximately 700 km.Its evolution is due to lithospheric thinning of an area of Antarctica that resulted in the demarcation of East and West Antarctica.The scale and evolution of the rift system has been compared to that of the Basin and Range Province of the western U.S.

Exploration of the geology of the West Antarctic Rift System is limited because apart from peaks of the Transantarctic Mountains that protrude above the ice, much of the region is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf and the vast West Antarctic Ice Sheet.