The giant split in Africa is getting bigger and bigger, but what does this mean?

A phenomenon of important geological significance, requires scientists to join hands to find out why.

Recently, social news sites have posted a large crack image in the Rift valley area (Narok County, Kenya). As noted, the crack is 15m deep, 20m wide, and is growing longer.

According to the Daily Nation, a geologist said this phenomenon happened because the area had a weak structure. Some cracks are new, but most of them have existed long ago and buried in volcanic ash. After the recent heavy rains, the ash was washed away and exposed to these terrible cracks.

Extensive cracks have caused significant impacts on residents living around the Rift valley. Many families had to evacuate, including a house destroyed directly.

But what exactly is happening?

According to experts, this is not a new phenomenon, because the area is still . cracked very often.

In fact, the eastern part of Africa is slowly being divided, as tectonic plates extend up to 5000km along the eastern side of the continent.

The eastern part of Africa is gradually divided.

The tectonic plate of Africa divided into Somali and Nubia arrays, forming a Y-shape, and they are separated from each other. This process, dubbed EARS (East African Cracking System) , began slowly 25 million years ago, with the speed falling only a few millimeters a year.

This also means that about 10 million years later, there will be a new ocean formed in the East African region that has left.

There are a few hypotheses about EARS, most notably because geological activities have pushed superheated matter to the surface, causing it to crack. Although there are no conclusions, this is arguably the most likely hypothesis.

Of course, such a phenomenon has left many consequences. Some areas have shrunk over the past few million years, others have increased area. The process of separation is so clear that it creates small-scale tectonic plates, such as Victoria and Rovuma. Geological activities also create an underground volcanic system beneath the ground.

Similar cracks have also occurred in the past. In 2005, an 8m-wide hole ran 60km in just 10 days. This rift appears because of the magma from Dabbahu volcano (Ethiopia) flowing into the ground, then cooled down and pushed to the surface. The reason it is growing is because of EARS.

Return to the crack from Kenya. According to many reviews, the cause of the cause is similar to the hole in Ethiopia - that is, because the underground volcanoes work. However, Dr. James Hammond from University of London disagrees.

"I don't think it's related to magmatic flow, it's not like that. On Dabbahu, it's not just a crack, it's a lot of tectonic distortions," he said.

"I'm not sure what is the cause? At that time, did anyone feel shaken? If not, it is clear that the cause is not volcanoes and teleportations."