Africa is gradually pulling apart in two, a process that will unfold over countless millennia. As with any deep geological event, the full split is not soon in sight, but over time a section of East Africa is expected to detach from the rest of the continent, possibly giving rise to a new sea between the two emerging landmasses.
This massive rift ranks among the planet’s most expansive, stretching across Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique.
What researchers observe is a fracture system where the African plate is splitting into two subplates: the smaller Somali plate and the larger Nubian plate. A study published in 2004 noted that the two plates are moving apart at an exceptionally slow pace, only a few centimeters each year.
The result could resemble a future configuration where the Horn of Africa begins to separate from the mainland, forming a substantial elongated island of land.
In 2018, a dramatic crack appeared unexpectedly
On March 18, 2018, residents of a small town in southeastern Kenya witnessed something astonishing: the ground gave way, opening a fault that stretched for kilometers and plunged as deep as twenty meters. The event left an indelible impression on those who saw it and reminded observers of the East African Rift’s dynamic activity.
Experts view this fracture as part of the ongoing evolution of the East African Rift, illustrating how the region has transformed over time.
Geologist Lucía Pérez Díaz of the Royal Holloway College Dynamic Fault Research Group explained in a publication that the eastern branch of the Rift Valley, running through Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, saw a sudden crack that initiated the current phase of extension.
Pérez Díaz noted that this break offers a rare live record of the various stages of fracturing as a continent splits.
The most significant development began roughly 30 million years ago in the Afar region of northern Ethiopia and has since progressed southward toward Zimbabwe, at an average pace of about 2.5 to 5 centimeters per year.
Present-day activity shows the Earth’s outer shell, the lithosphere, approaching a breaking point in the Afar region.
Pérez Díaz observes that when this breaking occurs, a new ocean will begin to form, and the seabed could shift along the entire crack over tens of millions of years.
As a consequence, the African continent may shrink, ultimately creating a large island in the Indian Ocean that includes parts of Ethiopia and Somalia, encompassing the Horn of Africa.
…….