28 janv. 2026
Africa is slowly tearing apart along the East African Rift System, where the Nubian, Somalian, and Arabian plates diverge.
The rift has been active for about 22–25 million years. It stretches from the Afar region of Ethiopia to Mozambique and forms a Y-shaped “triple junction” in Afar, one of the few places on Earth where three rifts meet.
Mantle plumes beneath East Africa heat and thin the crust, which causes active rifting, intense volcanism, and frequent earthquakes. GPS and satellite data reveal the crust is steadily thinning, with some segments already transitioning to early oceanic crust.
Parts of Afar lie below sea level. The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea will eventually flood the deepening rift and create a new ocean in roughly 5–10 million years.
Climate shifts, including long-term drying and shrinking lakes like Turkana, may be accelerating fault movement, increasing geological hazards for millions living along the rift.
In 2005, a 35-mile rift opened in Ethiopia within days due to magma-driven tectonic movement.
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