What is the African Rift Valley known for?

What is the African Rift Valley known for?

The most well-known rift valley on Earth is probably the so-called "Great Rift Valley System" which stretches from the Middle East in the north to Mozambique in the south. The area is geologically active, and features volcanoes, hot springs, geysers, and frequent earthquakes.

Where is Rift Valley located in Africa?

Eastern Africa The Rift Valley, located in Eastern Africa, covers just over 2% of the continent and spreads over seven countries (Map 5 and Table 29). min. max. The Rift Valley consists of a group of independent interior basins, extending from Djibouti in the north to Tanzania in the south, nearly half being located in Ethiopia.

What is happening at the African Rift Valley?

A narrow zone, the rift is a developing divergent tectonic plate boundary where the African Plate is in the process of splitting into two tectonic plates, called the Somali Plate and the Nubian Plate, at a rate of 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) per year.

How did the African Rift Valley form?

Geologists know that the Rift Valley was formed by violent subterranean forces that tore apart the earth's crust. These forces caused huge chunks of the crust to sink between parallel fault lines and force up molten rock in volcanic eruptions.

What is the difference between valley and rift valley?

A rift valley is a lowland region formed by the interaction of Earth's tectonic plates. ... Rift valleys differ from river valleys and glacial valleys in that they are created by tectonic activity and not the process of erosion. Tectonic plates are huge, rocky slabs of Earth's lithosphere—its crust and upper mantle.

Is the Great Rift Valley in Kenya?

Stretching from the Lebanon to Mozambique, Africa's Great Rift Valley is a 6,000-mile crack in the earth's crust, and much of it is to be found in Kenya, where it has literally cut the country in two. The Valley contains some of the world's finest lakes, mountains and plains.

Why is the Rift Valley important?

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 ...

Is the rift Valley widening?

In the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the North American plate and the Eurasian plate are splitting apart at a rate of about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) per year. Over millions of years, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has formed rift valleys as wide as 15 kilometers (9 miles).

Is Africa splitting in half?

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.

What are disadvantages of the Rift Valley in Africa?

• - High temperatures lead to shortage of water.'' - Earthquakes (tremors) which destroy property - Little rainfall or drought in the Rain shadow areas - Poor means of transport and communication because of the steep escarpments - Salty lakes because of high temperatures and high evaporation rates - Soil erosion and land slides especially on the steep slopes

What are some famous rift valleys?

• Lake Superior. The most famous rift lakes in the world may be the series of narrow, deep rift valleys in the East African Rift known simply as the Rift Valley lakes. The Rift Valley lakes, stretching from Ethiopia to Malawi , are sites of amazing biodiversity. They include freshwater lakes, similar to Lake Baikal ,...

Where is the Rift Valley in Africa?

• Africa. The Western Rift, also called the Albertine Rift , is bordered by some of the highest mountains in Africa, including the Virunga Mountains, Mitumba Mountains, and Ruwenzori Range. It contains the Rift Valley lakes , which include some of the deepest lakes in the world (up to 1,470 metres (4,820 ft) deep at Lake Tanganyika ).

How deep is the African Rift Valley?

• East African Rift Valley is one of the most extensive rifts on the Earth's surface; the valley is about 6,400 kilometers long, averages 48 to 64 kilometers wide and has a depth from a few hundred to several thousand meters.