Massive Continent Faces Potential Collapse in Coming Years

Studies suggest Africa may be slowly dividing into two tectonic plates, potentially creating a new ocean. Previously thought to rest on a single tectonic plate, scientists now believe Africa is fracturing into the Nubian and Somali plates along the East African Rift.

This theory gained traction in March 2018 when a massive crack opened in southwestern Kenya after heavy rains, swallowing part of the Nairobi-Narok highway. This crack appeared in the Kenyan Rift Valley, a section of the East African Rift, one of the world’s most tectonically active regions. Although initially seen as a sudden event, the crack was later attributed to an old crevice filled with volcanic ash from past eruptions, which collapsed during the rains.

Stretching about 3,500 kilometers from the Red Sea in the north to Mozambique in the south, the East African Rift began forming roughly 25 million years ago and has since fueled volcanic and seismic activity that created mountains like Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya.

Geologists point to the lithosphere under Kenya and Ethiopia, which is rising and stretching due to mantle heat plumes, as the cause of this split. These processes have triggered volcanic eruptions, with lava flows and fractures forming fault lines across the brittle crust.

The Nubian and Somali plates are now moving apart at approximately 7mm per year. Though the rift remains above sea level, it is expected to expand over millions of years, sinking and eventually allowing ocean waters to flow in, potentially separating the Horn of Africa from the mainland.