2023-06-19 06:00:14
Africa, the second largest continent, is gradually being torn apart by a giant fault. This phenomenon, known as the East African Rift, is a network of valleys stretching regarding 3,500 kilometers from the Red Sea to Mozambique. But then, will Africa (With an area of ​​30,221,532 km2 including the islands,…) be completely torn apart (Completely or completely automatic, or by anglicism completion or…) and, if so, when will this happen? To answer this question, let’s look at the region’s tectonic plates. These outer parts of the surface of our planet (A planet is a celestial body orbiting around the Sun or another star of…) can collide (A collision is a direct collision between two objects. Such an impact transmits part of…), forming mountains, or parting, creating vast basins. Along this colossal tear in East Africa, the Somali tectonic plate diverges eastward from the other part of the continent ( The word continent comes from the Latin continere for “to hold together”, or continens…), the Nubian tectonic plate (The tectonics (from the Greek “Ï„?κτων” or “tekt?n”). These plates separate also from the Arabian plate to the north, forming a Y-shaped fault system in the Afar region of Ethiopia.
The East African Rift is a network of valleys stretching from the Red Sea to Mozambique. Here, cultivated fields in the Rift valley in Ethiopia.
Image: LuCaAr via Getty Images
The formation of the East African Rift began regarding 35 million years ago between Arabia and the Horn of Africa. It gradually expanded south, reaching northern Kenya 25 million years ago. It consists of two sets of fractures in the earth’s crust, one running through Ethiopia and Kenya, the other running from Uganda to Malawi. The fact that Africa is slowly opening up along several lines is proven by the existence of these faults and the discovery of offshore areas (Offshore is an English term originally referring to the activities that take place offshore. ..) seismic and volcanic eruptions.
“The tearing process is very slow, regarding as fast as fingernails grow,” says Ken Macdonald, professor emeritus (In higher education, emeritus is an honorary title given to… ) of Earth Sciences at the University of California (The University of California is an American university, founded in 1868, whose…).
Map showing tectonic plate boundaries (grey) as well as the East African Rift Zone (dashed lines).
Image: U.S. Geological survey
If Africa were to tear itself apart, several scenarios are possible. One of them provides for the separation of most of the Somali plate from the rest of the African continent, forming a new sea. Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti and eastern parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. Another scenario foresees the separation of only eastern Tanzania and Mozambique.
However, Africa might not split in two. The geologic forces causing this rift may be too slow to separate the Somali and Nubian plates. A notable example of an aborted rift is one that extends approximately 3,000 kilometers across the Upper Midwest of America (America is a separate continent, to the west, from Asia and…) North.
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