In the geologic history of Earth, shifting plate tectonics are commonplace, and Africa's impending rift is but another chapter in that story. The Earth's continents are far from constant.

On land, giant troughs such as the Great Rift Valley in Africa form where plates are tugged apart. If the plates there continue to diverge, millions of years from now eastern Africa will split ...

The small fissure is linked to the 22-million-year-old, 4,000-mile-long East African Rift System ... The African and Arabian ...

The movement of tectonic plates is a foundational geological ... while the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea could flood the East African Rift Valley, forming a new ocean. However, complete continental ...

Scientists have warned that Africa ... 2,000-mile rift that formed at least 22 million years ago where the continent's Great Lakes reside. This region is also home to two tectonic plates, the ...

The result is a rift valley formed of depressions ... The gradual shift of tectonic plates shows a world in constant flux. While that division is still millions of years away in East Africa, the ...