The Great Rift Valley: Africa's Geologic Scar from Ethiopia to Mozambique

The Great Rift Valley is a massive geological trench system running through eastern Africa—the continent it calls home.

Geography

• Length: ~6,000 km (3,700 mi) from Afar Depression (Ethiopia/Eritrea/Djibouti) to Mozambique.
• Width: 30–100 km.
• Depth: Hundreds to thousands of meters.
• Branches: Eastern (Gregory) Rift (Kenya, Tanzania) & Western (Albertine) Rift (Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, Malawi).

Plate Tectonics

Caused by the African Plate splitting into the Nubian (west) and Somali (east) plates, diverging at ~6–7 mm/year. In 10M years, a new ocean may form.

Spectacular Features

• Volcanoes: Kilimanjaro, Kenya, Nyiragongo, Ol Doinyo Lengai (carbonatite lava).
• Lakes: Turkana, Naivasha, Nakuru, Manyara, Tanganyika (2nd deepest), Malawi, Kivu.
• Escarpments: Mau, Elgeyo, Rwenzori ("Mountains of the Moon").
• Fossil sites: Olduvai Gorge, Hadar (Lucy, Australopithecus afarensis).

Biodiversity & Culture

• Endemic species, wildebeest migration, flamingos.
• Cradle of humankind; Maasai, Hadza, Datoga, and many others inhabit the rift.

Seismic Risk

One of Earth's most active continental rift zones—earthquakes, eruptions, CO₂ seeps (Lake Nyos type).