In March 2018, a large crack stretching a few miles in length, suddenly appeared in Kenya almost overnight. At its deepest and widest, it was 50 feet deep and 65 feet wide. The tear caused part of the highway between Mai-Mahiu and Narok to collapse near a small market called Suswa. The phenomenon wreaked havoc, cutting off feeder roads and prompting families to flee due to the widening fault line.
I was fascinated by the news reports broadcast around the world and followed the updates for a few days. Eventually I was able to see it with my own eyes two weeks later when I went to visit missionary friends in Narok. The girls in these pictures were there at the same time I had stopped by. They were on a school field trip traveling by bus and also had a chance to see it with their own eyes when they passed by the area.
The Earth is an ever-changing planet. But every now and then something dramatic happens and leads to renewed questions about the African continent splitting in two. Dramatic events, such as a highway suddenly breaking apart due to a fault can give continental rifting a sense of urgency. However, rifting is a very slow process that, most of the time, goes about splitting Africa without anybody even noticing. This site actually displays evidence of such activity that started in the depths of the earth.
[Excerpts from - https://theconversation.com/africa-is-splitting-in-two-here-is-why-94056]
Definition of rift (v) - Form fissures, cracks, or breaks, especially through large-scale faulting; move apart
Definition of a rift valley (n) - a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift
The Great Rift Valley is the continuous geographic trench running from Lebanon's Beqaa Valley in Asia to Mozambique in Southeastern Africa. Today, the term mostly refers to the valley of the East African Rift, which is in the process of splitting the African Plate into two new separate plates.
In order to log this Earth Cache, send me your answers for these 5 questions:
1. Geologically speaking, what is a rift?
2. What is a tectonic plate?
3. What is a rift valley?
4. Approximately how long is the Great Rift Valley?
5. Watch this video to learn what may have caused this split or fissure. Which reason expressed by the two geologists do you think was the cause? https://youtu.be/94Lhq_MXwqA
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