What will happen to the Great Rift Valley in the future?

What will happen to the Great Rift Valley in the future?

The new ocean created by this rift will be a continuation of the Red Sea; the divergent boundary between the African and Arabian plates. Within 10 Ma, the rift will be completely flooded by the encroaching sea and Somali will become an independent plate (Emerick and Duncan, 1982).

What will happen to rift valley after a million years?

After millions of years, however, the rift failed. The continent remained intact and the rift’s arms failed to open up a new ocean. Today, the remains of that ancient rift lake, Lake Superior, rest atop one of the oldest and deepest rift valleys in the world.

What do scientists think will happen to the Great Rift Valley in millions of years?

This desolate expanse sits atop the juncture of three tectonic plates that are very slowly peeling away from each other, a complex geological process that scientists say will eventually cleave Africa in two and create a new ocean basin millions of years from now.

What will happen to the East African Rift valley in the future?

However, researchers are uncertain about the future of the East African rift—whether the split will continue and an ocean will eventually be formed. At the rate at which the Afar rift is splitting, it will take tens of million years for an ocean to eventually be formed.

Is the Great Rift Valley still growing?

A large crack, stretching several kilometers, made a sudden appearance recently in south-western Kenya. The tear, which continues to grow, caused part of the Nairobi-Narok highway to collapse and was accompanied by seismic activity in the area.

How does the Great Rift Valley affect Africa?

This area is part of the Great Rift Valley, where Africa is slowly pushed and pulled apart by uprising material in earth’s mantle. Eventually, the rift will become deep enough to host a new ocean, separating Eastern Africa from the rest of the continent.

What will happen to the East African Rift in 5 million years?

“The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea will flood in over the Afar region and into the East African Rift Valley and become a new ocean, and that part of East Africa will become its own separate small continent,” Macdonald said.

Which type of fault is found in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa?

divergent plate boundary
The East African Rift Valley (EAR) is a developing divergent plate boundary in East Africa. Here the eastern portion of Africa, the Somalian plate, is pulling away from the rest of the continent, that comprises the Nubian plate.

How did the Great Rift Valley form in Africa?

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 do scientists believe will happen to East Africa and the Indian Ocean?

The ocean will flood in and, as a result, the African continent will become smaller and there will be a large island in the Indian Ocean composed of parts of Ethiopia and Somalia, including the Horn of Africa.

What is happening in 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 was the Great Rift Valley in Africa formed?

How is the Rift Valley changing the world?

Slowly shifting tectonic plates, upon which our continents sit, can change the face of the planet. Earlier this year, a crack opened up in the ground in the Kenyan part of the East African Rift Valley.

What does the valley of the East African Rift mean?

Today, the term is most often used to refer to the valley of the East African Rift, the divergent plate boundary which extends from the Afar Triple Junction southward across eastern Africa, and is in the process of splitting the African Plate into two new separate plates.

How did the rift in Africa form the Himalayas?

Along the East African Rift Valley, African continent is splitting into two — the Somali plate and the Nubian plate. The Himalayas were formed when the Indo-Australian plate collided with the Eurasian plate. But a 2012 study found that the northward movement of the Indian plate is slowing and will halt in 20 million years.

How is the Baikal Rift Valley formed and how is it formed?

Lake Superior. The Baikal Rift Valley is formed by a divergent plate boundary, where the Amur plate is slowly tearing itself away from the Eurasian plate, and has been doing so for about 25 million years. The Amur plate is moving eastward at a rate of about 4 to 5 millimeters (.16 to .2 inch) a year.