East African Rift: Continent in the making or geography’s mischief?
The rift, which has existed for 35 million years, is still active, leading to the slow detachment of a powerful peninsula to the east. As a result, one of the largest continents is breaking apart before our eyes. This could lead to the formation of an eighth continent.
Geologists indicate that the tectonic plates in Africa, which created the East African Rift, are still diverging. This could result in the formation of an eighth continent.
It is worth knowing that the East African Rift is remarkably visible on physical maps of the continent. Its presence manifests as the Great African Rift Valley, which stretches for thousands of kilometres along the meridian. This phenomenon continues through the Red Sea, shaping riverbeds, lakes, and waterfalls.
The process of forming this landscape began about 35 million years ago. Initially, the rift was limited to the junction of Arabia and the Somali Peninsula. Ten million years later, the rift spread significantly southward, reaching northern Kenya.
Currently, the East African Rift comprises two main, wide cracks in the Earth's crust. The eastern rift runs through Ethiopia and Kenya, while the western forms an arc from Uganda to Malawi.
East African Rift
Although the tectonic origin of the East African Rift is fairly obvious, it's hard to imagine that its formation results from heat from the hot asthenosphere, which is a part of Earth's mantle. This rift results from complex geological processes in which heat and forces within the Earth play an important role.
This heat warms the Earth's crust at the boundary between the tectonic plates: the Nubian plate in the west and the Somali plate in the east. As a result, the Earth's crust expands like rising dough in an oven, fracturing the continental rock.
This story is also connected with intense volcanic activity that must have accompanied this phenomenon. A perfect example is the highest peak in Africa, Kilimanjaro. Its massif contains three stratovolcanoes, with only the dormant Kibo emitting hydrogen sulphide. The other volcanoes are considered extinct.
Will a new continent form?
Sometimes, geological forces weaken, leading to the disappearance of continental rifts. Cynthia Ebinger, a geologist at Tulane University in New Orleans, confirms that "failed rifts are found on all continents of the world." According to researchers from the Geological Society of London, this pertains to the eastern crack of the rift.
The process of spreading the tectonic plate has not ceased. The western part is still detaching the African Plateau from the central part of the continent.
This is confirmed by a zone of earthquakes and volcanoes recently located off the eastern coast of Africa. Scientists estimate that the African continent is fracturing at a rate of 0.6 centimetres per year. At this rate, the separation of the tectonic plates should occur within 1 to 5 million years.
In geological terms, this is a really short period that may cause the current African Plateau to stop being part of Africa. The Somali Plate will continue to move eastward, separating from central Africa and the Nubian Plate, leading to the formation of a new ocean.
