Millions of years ago, the Arabian Peninsula was connected to Africa. Seafloor spreading caused the Arabian and African plates to rift apart. The Indian Ocean flooded the rift valley between the continents, creating the Red Sea. ... South of the Red Sea Rift lies the massive, complex East African Rift.
How was the East African Rift system formed?
The East African Rift Valley, as the region is known, formed where the Somalian and Nubian plates are pulling away from the Arabian Plate . ... The eastern branch formed around 25 to 30 million years ago, whereas the western branch formed only 10 to 15 million years ago — or at least that’s what scientists thought.
How was the rift valley in Africa formed?
Millions of years ago, the Arabian Peninsula was connected to Africa. Seafloor spreading caused the Arabian and African plates to rift apart . The Indian Ocean flooded the rift valley between the continents, creating the Red Sea. Today, Africa and Asia are connected by the triangle of the Sinai Peninsula.
Where does the East African Rift Valley start?
For 30 million years, part of eastern Africa, known as the Somali plate, has been peeling away from the rest of the continent. This has created the Great Rift Valley, which starts in Ethiopia and Eritrea and splits around the Kenya Dome until recombining in the Malawi Rift.
When was the Great African rift valley formed?
These rifts and faults were formed 35 million years ago .
Is Africa splitting apart?
Scientists say a new ocean will form in Africa as the continent continues to split into two . ... It is an active continental rift that began millions of years ago, splitting at 7mm annually.
Which is the largest rift valley in the world?
The largest and deepest rift valley yet discovered is not on Earth—it’s on Mars. Valles Marineris was formed millions of years ago, when the rocky Martian lithosphere was still rifting and shifting. Valles Marineris reaches depths of up to 7 kilometers (4 miles) and spans about 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) long.
What is the East African Rift an example of?
The East African Rift Valley is an example of a divergent boundary in an area of continental crust . It is one the geologic wonders of the world, a place where the earth’s tectonic forces are presently trying to create new plates by splitting apart old ones. Watch this simple video on the formation of a rift valley.
Which countries does the Rift Valley pass through?
| Name of basin Total area of basin Area in the country | Uganda 4 514 | Kenya 102 452 | Southern lakes: 178 800 | Kenya 25 000 |
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How deep is the African Rift Valley?
The actual floor of the rift valley is more than 5 kilometers (3 miles) deep . Lake Baikal also has the largest volume of liquid freshwater in the world—a staggering 23,615 cubic kilometers (5,700 cubic miles).
How fast is Africa splitting apart?
The three plates are separating at different speeds. The Arabian plate is moving away from Africa at a rate of about 1 inch per year, while the two African plates are separating even slower, between half an inch to 0.2 inches per year , according to Macdonald.
Why is the rift valley important to Africa?
The system of rift valleys that characterizes the African continent represents a perfect environment to understand the evolution of mankind ; for the important paleoanthropological discoveries in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire, the African rift valleys are indeed considered the “cradle of mankind”, that is ...
Why do rift valleys have volcanoes?
Rift volcanoes form when magma rises into the gap between diverging plates . They thus occur at or near actual plate boundaries. ... Earthquake swarms and volcanic eruptions occur when the stretching exceeds the strength of the near-surface rocks, which then fracture along steeply dipping cracks parallel to the rift.
What is Africa’s oldest country?
Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. Apart from a five-year occupation by Mussolini’s Italy, it has never been colonised.
Why was Africa divided?
This conference was called by German Chancellor Bismarck to settle how European countries would claim colonial land in Africa and to avoid a war among European nations over African territory . ... All the major European States were invited to the conference.
What if Africa broke apart?
As the plates continue to pull away from each other, the rift valley will sink deeper and deeper, and water from the Red Sea will flood in to create a new ocean. Africa will become a lot smaller, as parts of southern Ethiopia and Somalia will drift off to form a new island.
