Geologists forecast that the East African Rift in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, among other African countries, will split open, forming a new ocean. Stock image showing the world's tectonic plates.

Chemical fingerprints from volcanic rock offer hints of what’s happening in the mantle below the area where three rift zones ...

A giant rift is slowly tearing Africa, the second-largest continent, apart. This depression — known as the East African Rift — is a network of valleys that stretches about 2,175 miles (3,500 ...

Rhythmic pulsing deep beneath landlocked east Africa is literally tearing the continent apart. But while the effects won’t ...

In the arid deserts of Ethiopia, a geological marvel has been quietly unfolding since 2005—a 35-mile-long fissure known as the East African Rift. Far from being a mere curiosity, this rift holds the ...

A NEW ocean is forming beneath Ethiopia as a “heartbeat”-like pulse deep below the Earth’s surface splits the African continent in two, according to scientists. While a new ocean ...

Scientists say East Africa is slowly splitting along a tectonic rift, potentially forming a new ocean over millions of years. The process, while gradual, offers rare insight into how continents ...

A new study has provided a major update on why Africa is being split into two. The rift has been happening gradually for ...

The rift is responsible for creating some of Africa's most iconic landmarks, including the peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. It started forming roughly 25 million years ago, but its ...

A spot in eastern Africa called the Afar Triangle marks the meeting point of three rift zones—lines where Earth’s crust is being rent apart. Researchers haven’t been sure exactly what drives this ...

Plate tectonics have caused the landmasses to shift over time, and another shift is occurring in the 21st century. Scientists have known for the past two decades that Africa has been splitting .