What caused the formation of the Great rift valley?

What caused the formation of the Great rift valley?

Millions of years ago, the Arabian Peninsula was connected to Africa. Seafloor spreading caused the Arabian and African plates to rift apart. The Indian Ocean flooded the rift valley between the continents, creating the Red Sea. Today, Africa and Asia are connected by the triangle of the Sinai Peninsula.

What type of boundary causes the formation of Great rift valley?

Divergent plate boundaries Divergent plate boundaries, which are associated with the formation of rift valleys, occur when plates move away from one another. Convergent plate boundaries move toward one another, pushing into one another and are likely to create mountain ranges.

Is the Great rift valley an escarpment?

The Kenya lake system is surrounded by the steep escarpment of the Rift Valley, which provides a spectacular backdrop. Other lakes are Lake Chew Bahir, in the northeast extension….Lakes.

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Inscription 1997 (21st Session)
Extensions 2001
Location of Great Rift Valley, Kenya in Kenya

What boundary caused the African rift valley?

divergent plate boundary The East African Rift Valley (EAR) is a developing divergent plate boundary in East Africa. Here the eastern portion of Africa, the Somalian plate, is pulling away from the rest of the continent, that comprises the Nubian plate.

What formed the Great Rift Valley quizlet?

The Great Rift Valley was formed when two tectonic plates split apart and left a rift. List some of the spectacular features that you would find in the Great Rift Valley. You would find mountains, escarpments, volcanoes, rivers, and large lakes in the Great Rift Valley.

When was the Great Rift Valley formed?

"We now believe that the western portion of the rift formed about 25 million years ago, and is approximately as old as the eastern part, instead of much younger as other studies have maintained," said Michael Gottfried, a geologist at Michigan State University who co-authored the study.

When was the Great rift valley formed?

35 million years ago It included what today is called the Lebanese section of the Dead Sea Transform, the Jordan Rift Valley, Red Sea Rift and the East African Rift. These rifts and faults were formed 35 million years ago.

What plates formed the rift valley?

The East African Rift Valley, as the region is known, formed where the Somalian and Nubian plates are pulling away from the Arabian Plate. The eastern branch of the rift passes through Ethiopia and Kenya, and the western branch forms a giant arc from Uganda to Malawi.

When did the Great Rift Valley form?

35 million years ago It included what today is called the Lebanese section of the Dead Sea Transform, the Jordan Rift Valley, Red Sea Rift and the East African Rift. These rifts and faults were formed 35 million years ago.

Where is the escarpment located in Kenya?

the Great Rift Valley Mau Escarpment, steep natural rampart along the western rim of the Great Rift Valley in western Kenya, west and south of the town of Nakuru; it rises to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m) on the Equator. Its crest is covered with a vast forest.

How are rift valleys formed quizlet?

Rift valleys are formed on divergent plate boundaries when the plates are moving apart, it leaves a long deep gorge with (reasonably) flat sides and a flat floor. When the plates are pulled apart, the centre block drops down to form a graben.

How was the Great Rift Valley formed and what landforms are found in this region quizlet?

The Great Rift Valley was formed when two tectonic plates split apart and left a rift. List some of the spectacular features that you would find in the Great Rift Valley. You would find mountains, escarpments, volcanoes, rivers, and large lakes in the Great Rift Valley.

What are 3 facts about the Great Rift Valley?

The Great Rift Valley comprises a series of geographical features that stretch from Lebanon to Mozambique. The name is used for the continuous geographic trench, mainly in the eastern part of Africa. It's a hotbed for geology, with several volcanoes, earthquakes, hot springs, and geysers.

How are rift formed?

Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear depression may subsequently be further deepened by the forces of erosion. More generally the valley is likely to be filled with sedimentary deposits derived from the rift flanks and the surrounding areas.

Is the Great Rift Valley in Kenya?

Stretching from the Lebanon to Mozambique, Africa's Great Rift Valley is a 6,000-mile crack in the earth's crust, and much of it is to be found in Kenya, where it has literally cut the country in two. The Valley contains some of the world's finest lakes, mountains and plains.

Is an escarpment a mountain?

An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.

What is a rift valley quizlet?

Rift valley. Linear shaped lowland between several highland or mountain ranges created by a geological rift or fault, usually a divergent plate boundary.

Where is Great Rift Valley is located?

Eastern Africa The Rift Valley, located in Eastern Africa, covers just over 2% of the continent and spreads over seven countries (Map 5 and Table 29). min. max. The Rift Valley consists of a group of independent interior basins, extending from Djibouti in the north to Tanzania in the south, nearly half being located in Ethiopia.

Which type of fault is found in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa?

Which type of fault is found in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa? In a normal dip-slip fault, which of the following statements describes the movement of the hanging wall relative to the footwall? The hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall.

How was the Great Rift valley formed for kids?

One theory about the formation of the valley suggests that great tension caused Earth's crust, which had already been warped upward through volcanic activity, literally to drop. Another theory proposes that great compression forced the crust downward.

When did the Great Rift valley form?

"We now believe that the western portion of the rift formed about 25 million years ago, and is approximately as old as the eastern part, instead of much younger as other studies have maintained," said Michael Gottfried, a geologist at Michigan State University who co-authored the study.

When was the rift valley formed?

35 million years ago It included what today is called the Lebanese section of the Dead Sea Transform, the Jordan Rift Valley, Red Sea Rift and the East African Rift. These rifts and faults were formed 35 million years ago.

How is a rift valley formed give one example?

Faulting due to divergence creates the rift system. Continental rifts are potential places where new oceans are expected to form. Examples of rift valleys: The East African Rift, the Baikal Rift Valley, the West Antarctic Rift, and the Rio Grande Rift are Earth's major active continental rift valleys.

When was the Rift Valley formed?

35 million years ago It included what today is called the Lebanese section of the Dead Sea Transform, the Jordan Rift Valley, Red Sea Rift and the East African Rift. These rifts and faults were formed 35 million years ago.

What are 3 facts about the Great Rift valley?

The Great Rift Valley comprises a series of geographical features that stretch from Lebanon to Mozambique. The name is used for the continuous geographic trench, mainly in the eastern part of Africa. It's a hotbed for geology, with several volcanoes, earthquakes, hot springs, and geysers.

How was the escarpment formed?

Escarpments are formed by one of two processes: erosion and faulting. Erosion creates an escarpment by wearing away rock through wind or water. One side of an escarpment may be eroded more than the other side. The result of this unequal erosion is a transition zone from one type of sedimentary rock to another.

Where is the Great Escarpment?

The Great Escarpment is a major topographical feature in Africa that consists of steep slopes from the high central Southern African plateau downward in the direction of the oceans that surround southern Africa on three sides.

How is a rift valley formed quizlet?

Rift valleys are formed on divergent plate boundaries when the plates are moving apart, it leaves a long deep gorge with (reasonably) flat sides and a flat floor. When the plates are pulled apart, the centre block drops down to form a graben.

When was Great Rift Valley formed?

35 million years ago These rifts and faults were formed 35 million years ago.

What could have caused the crack in the African Rift Valley?

For example, the crack could be the result of the erosion of soft soils infilling an old rift-related fault. The Earth is an ever-changing planet, even though in some respects change might be almost unnoticeable to us. Plate tectonics is a good example of this.