Overview
- Recent coverage cites National Geographic and researchers in reaffirming that the Somali and Nubian plates are diverging in an ongoing breakup that could form a new sea over tens of millions of years.
- The Afar region stands out for thin lithosphere and vigorous volcanism, with experts saying early ocean opening is most likely there.
- Estimates of the rift’s scale and pace differ, with reports describing lengths from thousands of kilometers to about 6,400 kilometers and widening rates ranging from roughly 1.27 cm to 5 cm per year.
- Episodic surface events underscore the process, including a sudden 60‑km rupture in Ethiopia in 2005 and a large fissure in southwest Kenya in 2018 that damaged a highway.
- Some scientists project eventual Indian Ocean flooding of the Rift and major geographic reconfiguration that could affect East Africa and potentially Madagascar, though precise timing remains uncertain.