Why is it in the News?

A dam burst near a village in the Rift Valley region of southern Kenya in the early hours of April 29, 2024. Some 45 people have been killed according to the police chief of Nakuru County, where the incident took place.

About the Great Rift Valley:

• The Great Rift Valley, part of the larger East African Rift System (EARS), is a significant geological feature extending across East Africa, from Jordan in southwestern Asia to central Mozambique's coast along the Indian Ocean.
• Running through numerous countries including Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique, the valley is one of Earth's most expansive rifts.

Formation:

• Resulting from tectonic plate movements about 40 million years ago, the Great Rift Valley's formation is linked to the East African Rift's emergence.
• Geologically active, the region experiences frequent earthquakes, volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers.

Notable Features:

• A series of approximately 30 lakes dot the Great Rift Valley, including Lake Tanganyika (the world's second-deepest lake) and Lake Victoria (the second-largest freshwater lake by surface area).
• Many of Africa's highest mountains, such as Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, and Mount Margherita, form part of ranges fronting the valley.

What is a Rift Valley?

• A rift valley is a lowland region that forms where the Earth's tectonic plates move apart or rift.
  • Rift valleys are a result of the tectonic processes that shape the Earth's surface, specifically in regions where tectonic plates are diverging or pulling away from each other.
• Rift valleys are characterized by a long, narrow depression, often with steep sides, running along the length of the rift.
  • The depression is caused by the sinking of the ground between the two diverging plates as they pull away from each other.
  • The thinning of the Earth's crust leads to subsidence and the formation of a valley.
• Rift valleys can be found on land as well as on the ocean floor.

Some notable examples of rift valleys include:

• The Great Rift Valley in East Africa is part of the larger East African Rift System.
• The Red Sea Rift separates the African and Arabian tectonic plates.
• The Rhine Valley in Europe was formed by the divergence of the European and African plates.
• Rift valleys are geologically active areas often associated with volcanic activity, earthquakes, and the formation of hot springs, geysers, and other hydrothermal features.