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Africa may split into two land masses within 10 million years due to a continental rift forming between the Arabian and African plates. Geologists are studying a 37-mile crack in Ethiopia’s Afar Region that is expected to widen and fill with seawater, creating a new island in the Indian Ocean.
Geologists think Africa could split into two separate land masses within the next 10 million years. An international team of scientists has documented the effects of a continental rift forming as the Arabian and African plates move apart. Specifically, they’re studying a 37-mile (60 km) long crack in the earth’s crust in Ethiopia’s Afar Region that opened in 2005 during a volcanic eruption. Geologists expect the drift to continue to widen and lengthen. Eventually, it should reach the east coast of Ethiopia and fill with seawater.
A new island in the Indian Ocean:
Dr James Hammond, a seismologist at the University of Bristol, says that as the rift progresses, ‘parts of southern Ethiopia will drift apart, create a new island and we’ll have a smaller Africa and a very large island floating in the Indian Ocean”.
In 2005, the great sinkhole caused by volcanic activity occurred over a period of just 10 days. “The ferocity of what we saw during this episode astounded everyone,” said one scientist.
Geologists studying the event hope to better understand how the Earth’s surface is shaped and how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
