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Huge Crack in Kenya Hints to Africa Breaking Up in Two

A crack in the ground several kilometers in length made headlines this week, after videos and photos showing it appeared online.
Earth opens up in Kenya 1 photo
Photo: Youtube screenshot/ DailyNation
Located near Mai Mahiu in Kenya, the visible nature-made ditch was allegedly revealed by heavy rains and powerful earthquakes in the region in March.

It is perhaps for the first time in history the world gets to experience first hand the starting stages of continental separation.

According to experts, in a few tens of millions of years (some argue 50 or so million, others say 10 million), the crack would be so wide that the ocean would come rushing in and bite off a good chunk of East Africa.

Until then, residents in the area are left trying to find a solution to a more pressing matter. Since the crack in the ground appeared on March 19, authorities have been trying to fix a major highway linking Narok to Nairobi, which has been severed as a result.

Kenya is located on the so-called East African Rift (EAR), an active continental rift that began developing some 25 million years ago. The rift is the point where two tectonic plates, the Somali and the Nubian, meet.

“The Great Rift splits Africa into two plates,” Kenyan geologist David Ahede was quoted as saying by Face2Face Africa.

“With what is happening we have established one plate which is the Somali plate is moving away from the other plate at a rate of 2.5cm. In the near future, if this happens, we shall have the Somali plate separating from the other Nubian plate.”

When the rupture would be complete, several thousand kilometers of East Africa would be cut off from the main continent. If they would still be around, countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozanbique would need air or sea connections to mainland Africa instead of roads.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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