A Strange Phenomenon Is Splitting Africa in Two — Here’s What’s Happening

Africa is not about to split in half tomorrow, but something extraordinary is happening beneath its surface. In eastern Africa, the continent is slowly pulling apart along a huge geological system known as the East African Rift. Over millions of years, this process could separate part of eastern Africa from the rest of the continent and allow a new ocean to form.

The latest research has made the story even more striking. Scientists studying the Turkana Rift in Kenya and Ethiopia found that the crust there is much thinner than previously recognized, suggesting the region has reached a more advanced stage of continental breakup. ScienceAlert reported that the central crust in this rift is around 13 kilometers thick, compared with more than 35 kilometers along the rift edges, a sign that the breakup process has crossed an important geological threshold.