The East African Rift system made up the western and eastern continental shelf, extending from the Afar region of Ethiopia to Mozambique. It is an active continental rift that began millions of years ago, splitting around 7mm annually. The regular eruption of volcanoes along the rift and new insights into the break-up of continents adds to the belief that the continent could split to form a new ocean.
East Africa is home to several visible geographical wonders that have attracted tourists to the area. These include Lake Lake and Tanzania’s Lake Tanganyika – respectively, the fourth largest freshwater body and the second deepest lakes in the world. It also includes active volcanoes such as the Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania, and the DallaFilla and Erta Ale in Ethiopia.
The Erta Ale rises as one of the most active volcanoes in the world and one of the only eight and possibly the longest existing lava lakes in the world.
Although not visible to tourists, among the wonders of the region is the Victoria microplate, one of the largest continental microplates. The Victoria microplate is a shear branch that, along chains of deep lakes and volcanoes, performs the various functions of the East African Rift System.
NASA
A recent study found that the Victoria microplate, which lies between the eastern and western branches of the Rift, has been rotating counterclockwise for the past two years with respect to the African plate – the main tectonic plate that makes up most of the African continent. This microplate was found to rotate in the opposite direction to all other adjacent microplates in the region.
While this gives researchers new insights into the splitting process of the Rift system of East Africa, the “Y” -shaped end of the split at the Afar region is receiving more attention, where an ocean is likely to be formed than the splits continue. The “Y” -shaped crossroads is where the African, Somali and Arabian tectonic plates meet at Djibouti and Eritrea and it is associated with active volcanoes, including the Erta Ale volcano.
NASA
Researchers believe the volcanic activity in the region suggests a rift-to-ridge transition. The Erta Ale has been erupting constantly for over 50 years and it is thought that as the Erta Ale continues to erupt, a new narrow ocean basin with its mid-ocean reef will be formed.
However, researchers are not sure about the future of the East African rift – if the split will continue and an ocean will eventually be formed. At the rate at which the Afar split divides, it will take tens of millions of years for an ocean to eventually form.
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