Facts

African Continent is Splitting to Form an Ocean Basin

we have a new continent?

The African continent is splitting in two and the result will eventually be a huge new continent. which will leave Africa without it’s horn. The reason is a geological rift that runs down the eastern side of the continent which will eventually be replaced with a new ocean basin.

Things began to change around 180 million years ago when the modern South Atlantic Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Indian Oceans began to form. Since the supercontinent PANGEA split apart, creating the land masses we now recognize as South America, Australia, India, Madagascar, Antarctica, and, Africa.

The African continent is splitting!! WHAT! WHY? HOW?

The Earth’s lithosphere (formed by the crust and the upper part of the mantle of the Earth) is broken up into several tectonic plates.

These tectonic plates are not static or stay at one place, they move slowly and sometimes faster relative to each other at varying speeds, “gliding” over the asthenosphere. (the mechanism of the area of their floating is still under debate)

These movements are the causes of various changes in the earth’s continent’s structures (African continent split) and even earthquakes, which are merely to settle down the disturbed areas of the earth. These pushes and forces pass the convection currents within the asthenosphere and it is generated at the boundaries between the plates.

These forces can also cause plates to rupture, forming a rift and potentially leading to the creation of new plate boundaries. which is formally known as a “Rift Valley”.

THE NEW CONTINENT?

The East African Rift Valley stretches over 3,000km. It is from the Gulf of Aden in the north towards Zimbabwe in the south, splitting the African plate into two unequal parts: the Somali and Nubian plates. The new continent is to called as the Nubian continent.

Activity along the eastern branch of the rift valley, running along Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, became evident when the large crack suddenly appeared in southwestern Kenya.

So, how much time will the split take?

Researchers say that it was to happen in a billion years, but the pace has become faster as the results are actively being shown in the various parts near Kenya and the Nubian coast. It will still take a thousand years, they say! but aren’t we all excited!!

 

Aditi Bhardwaj

An English major. A writer and and a procrastinator by day and a reader by night. my Instagram bio says, i am a hypocrite and my twitter account's bio agreed, on some levels. though my Facebook bio says i am least interested. I am an OK person. *CRINGE SMILES*

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