Early miocene rifting within the semliki valley area of the alber. Cherangany hills, mountain range in western kenya, east africa. The rift valley, also known as the great rift valley or eastern rift valley, is a geological feature due to the movement of tectonic plates and mantle plumes that runs south from jordan in southwest asia, through east africa and down to mozambique in southern africa. Africas great rift valley is a 6,000mile crack fissure in the earths crust, stretching from lebanon to mozambique. The rift valleys are a system of normal faults bordering a 4060 km wide trough, funnelling out toward north in the afar region. Why this giant crack opened up in kenyas rift valley. More than 1km deep in parts, it follows a fault line associated with tectonic plate activity, the phenomenon which, 200 million years ago, caused the vast landmass of gondwanaland which comprised most of todays southern. The great rift valley download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Chris carlson slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Explore southern rift valley holidays and discover the best time and places to visit. Lake superior is located above the midcontinent rift, so the rift provided the regions first transportation system, which is still crucial today. Geologic clues to whats tearing africa apart youtube. Africa s great rift valley is the largest, longest, and most conspicuous feature of its kind on earth. From a height of over 2400m, the land tumbles away nearly m into the suguta valley, the domain of nomadic pastoralists, before rising again 120km away to form the great rifts western escarpment.
Gorongosa national park sits at the southern end of africa s great rift valley in mozambique. The ear began developing around the onset of the miocene, 2225 million years ago. The lakes of the great rift valley travel guide east. History of the development of the east african rift system. Africas great rift valley by nigel pavitt, hardcover.
Spanning some 3500 miles of the african continent, from ethiopia in the north to mozambique in the south, the great rift valley is home to an astounding array of flora and fauna, including a great concentration of glassland animals amd three of the world s four great apes. Click download or read online button to get the great rift valley lakes book now. The great rift valley in africa is a divergent boundary. Eventually, the rift will become deep enough to host a new ocean, separating eastern africa from the rest of the continent. Uganda ethiopia rwanda camp beseri fort portal, uganda photo by. Olduvai, also known as oldupai, was the site of a large lake 500,000 years ago. Africas changing valley by smith, anthony, 19262014. Geologists know that the rift valley was formed by vio. Gorongosa s water cycle starts with the evaporation of water from the indian ocean.
It forms the western half of the great rift valley and extends northwest in a broken chain to mount moroto in uganda. One of its most dramatic sections slices through east africa, dividing kenya into two segments. The great rift valley is part of an intracontinental ridge system that runs through kenya from north to south. Africas great rift valley, 2001, isbn 0810906023 tribesofthegreatriftvalley,2007,isbn9780810994119 east african rift valley lakes, 2006, oclc 76876862 photographic atlas of the midatlantic ridge rift valley,1977,isbn0387902473 riftvalleyfever. The tertiary age east african rift system ears is predominantly located in zones of precambrian. Sociocultural and economic dimensions of rift valley fever. The great rift valley is a geological fault, almost 5,000 km in extention from north syria to the central parts of mozambique. This area is part of the great rift valley, where africa is slowly pushed and pulled apart by uprising material in earths mantle. Africas great rift valley 2001 edition open library. The complete rift system therefore extends s of kilometers in africa alone and several more if we include the red sea and gulf of aden as extensions.
Apr 20, 2012 our journey through africa s great rift valley in kenya. Filled with active volcanoes and vast lakes, the great rift valley is populated by a wide variety of unique species and many different tribes of people, most of whom make their living off of. European settlers and traders used the lake to import and export trade goods, lake fisheries were significant first commercially and now recreationally, and the lake remains an economic engine today. Photo, print, drawing map of africa showing the great rift valley contin of jordan valley digital file from original. The landscape ranges from searing salt flats 500 feet below sea level to snowcapped mountains towering over. Near where the rift valley crosses the equator it divides into the eastern and western rifts, on either side of lake victoria nyamweru 1996.
Jul 01, 2014 a samburu tribesman gazes across the eastern escarpment of the great rift valley at losiolo, north of maralal, in kenya. Click download or read online button to get the great rift valley book now. The great rift valley involves one such tremendous breadth, extending crosswise over a great many miles from mozambique to the middle east. The east african rift ear or east african rift system ears is an active continental rift zone in east africa. Possible worlds trailer ann druyan and worldrenowned astrophysicist neil degrasse tyson takes us on a cosmic adventure from the ancient heretic who opened our way to the stars to. The planets largest terrestrial geographical feature, the great rift valley stretches across 6000km from western arabia to the lower zambezi region of mozambique. So, although we tend to think of the african rift as one rift valley, it. The discovery of the great rift valley, where africa is. Pdf on jan 1, 2005, jean chorowicz and others published the east african rift system find, read. It was formed on the kenyan dome a geographical upwelling created by the. Volcanoes and volcanic sources in the east african rift. Starting near the capital nairobi, the journey takes us south to lake magadi and onwards to the heart of the great rift valley and the wildliferich plains of the maasi mara. The large crack that recently exposed itself in kenya is from the east african rift.
A rift valley refers to a lowland region where tectonic plates rift, or move apart. Structure, paleolimnology and basin history of the east kivu. The great rift valley offers spectacular scenery, through kenya and tanzania as the east african rift, hosting the great lakes. The ethiopian, eastem and western rift valleys are superposed on the braad 2,500. Blair stewart executive summary the african environmental stability project aesp strives to better understand the drivers of vulnerability. The producers of life, galapagos and yellowstone bring us the great rift. Gorongosa national park sits at the southern end of africas. The east african rift system ears is one the geologic wonders of the world, a place where the earth s tectonic forces are presently trying to create new plates by splitting apart old ones.
But this slice of africa s great rift valley is, for the most part, cool and calm, swathed in forest and watered by moody mineral lakes that blanch and blush with the movement of pelicans and flamingos. Great ethiopian routes the rift valley and the cultural mosaic of the south sparkling lake abijatta, its shallows crowded with up to 300,000 foraging flamingos, all silhouetted in gorgeous orange hues before the setting african sun. The east african rift system ears is one the geologic wonders of the world, a place where the earths tectonic forces are presently trying to create new plates. Visible from space, africas great rift valley runs four thousand miles from the red sea to the mouth of the zambezi a diverse landscape of erupting volcanoes, forestclad mountains, spectacular valleys, rich grasslands, vast lakes and mighty rivers. The great rift valley is part of a huge geological fault in east africa. Plate tectonics information and facts national geographic. Great rift valley simple english wikipedia, the free. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. In simple terms, a rift can be thought of as a fracture in the earth s surface that widens over time, or more. East african rift system, also called afroarabian rift valley, one of the most extensive rifts on earths surface, extending from jordan in southwestern asia southward through eastern africa to mozambique. Africas great rift valley by nigel pavitt, 2001, harry n. To the northwest, mount gorongosa rises 1,863 meters above sea level. The great rift valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately 6,000 kilometres 3,700 mi in total length, that runs from the beqaa valley in lebanon which is in asia to mozambique in southeast africa. The east african rift system ears represents the worlds best example of an.
Sep 16, 2017 the rift valley, also known as the great rift valley or eastern rift valley, is a geological feature due to the movement of tectonic plates and mantle plumes that runs south from jordan in southwest asia, through east africa and down to mozambique in southern africa. It is part of the gregory rift, the eastern branch of the east african rift, which starts in tanzania to the south and continues northward into ethiopia. Introduction to rift valleys excerpt from national geographic education. The rift is bordered by a series of mountains and active volcanoes. The great rift valley is a name given to the continuous geographical trench, about 6,000 kilometres 3,700 mi in length, that runs from northern syria in southwest asia to central mozambique in east africa. Hydropower potential and the regions rising energy demand. The great rift valley ranges in elevation from 1,300 ft 395 m below sea level at the dead sea to 6,000 ft 1,830 m above sea level in southern kenya. Eventually, the rift will become deep enough to host a new ocean. East africas great rift valley extends over 5 500 km, from the somaliaethiopia border at the red sea, southwest toward kenya, then south to mozambique in southern africa. The work of eduard suess on rift valleys was strongly. These volcanic ash deposits are a feature throughout the great rift valley running north to south through east africa, so the ability to date. It stretches some 3,500 miles, from ethiopia in the north to mozambique in the south. Using lake superior parks to explain the midcontinent rift u.
If the plates there continue to diverge, millions of years from now eastern africa will split. Mar 30, 2019 the rift valley of eastern africa and asia sometimes called the great rift valley grv or east african rift system ear or ears is an enormous geological split in the crust of the earth, thousands of kilometers long, up to 125 miles 200 kilometers wide, and between a few hundred to thousands of meters deep. East african rift system geological feature, africaasia. Possible worlds trailer ann druyan and worldrenowned astrophysicist neil degrasse tyson takes us on a cosmic adventure from. Africas great rift royal academy for overseas sciences. The system is some 4,000 miles 6,400 km long and averages 3040 miles 4864 km wide. Documentary about the lakes of the great rift valley in east africa. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. The two ear branches are often grouped with the ethiopian rift to form the east africa rift system ears.
After the discovery of rvf rvfv in 1930 among sheep on a naivasha farm in the rift valley of kenya, 19 extensive outbreaks were not reported until 1951, when an estimated 20,000 persons were infected during an epizootic of cattle and sheep in south africa. The great rift valley central bucks school district. East africa is one of the most geologically intriguing places on the planeta. Africa s great rift valley stretches from the northern tips of eritrea and ethiopia down to mozambique and as far east as the democratic republic of congo. Ride the rift is a onceinalifetime opportunity to be guided on a fullysupported 300 kilometre charity cycle challenge through some of africas most iconic landscapes. Map of africa showing the great rift valley contin of. In the past it was considered to be part of a larger great rift valley that. Apr 03, 2018 this area is part of the great rift valley, where africa is slowly pushed and pulled apart by uprising material in earth s mantle. The great rift valley lakes download ebook pdf, epub.
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