The Valley That’s Splitting Africa Apart

By Faraz

The Great Rift Valley is a valley formed by two tectonic plates moving apart, leaving behind a lowland region. The Great Rift Valley starts in the northern area of Syria and ends in central Mozambique.

Furthermore, it is part of the Gregory Rift, the eastern side of the East African Rift which climbs from Tanzania up into Ethiopia. The Rift Valley contains spectacular views along with thirty active and semi-active volcanoes and several geysers and hot springs. Volcanic activity, in this region, has produced mountains such as the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and the Crater Highlands in Tanzania.

The Rift runs through Kenya, from north to south. There are thirty lakes on the Rift Valley such as Lake Tanganyika (in Tanzania), the second deepest on Earth; Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake on Earth; and other lakes such as Lake Turkana, Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru.

This rift is dividing Africa into two and if the geothermal activity and the movement of tectonic plates continues, then in several million years’ time East Africa will break off from the rest of Africa and in the process create a separate landmass.

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For more information check out this article and this video-

This video shows the split has already begun where part of a highway collapsed in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya.

In this article,  James Hammond explains the birth of a new ocean and a smaller Africa when the new ocean will split Africa into two and a huge island will enter the Indian Ocean.