Why are rift valleys important?

The rift valleys are enormous fractures affecting the continental plates that widen progressively with time: they represent the first stages in the complex process of extension and rupture of continents and anticipate the development of new oceanic basins between them.

Where is the Great Rift valley and why is it important?

The Great Rift Valley is an expansive system of multiple rift basins following a fault line from the Red Sea near Syria and Jordan of Southwest Asia to the Indian Ocean by Mozambique in East Africa. The entire system travels 4,000 miles (6,400 km).

Why is the Great Rift valley important for the study of fossils?

It is believed that common magma stuck in the underground of the rift is slowly melting sedimentary rocks, forming the source of the carbonatite lava. The Great Rift maybe played also an important role in our evolution. Many sites where fossils of early hominids were found are located in or near the rift valley.

What is rare and interesting about the Baikal Rift Zone?

Due to Lake Baikal’s isolated location, far from the world’s oceans the microbial and animal life found here has undergone a unique evolution over the last 30 million years. The Baikal Rift Zone, or fracture zone, is also special because it is located 3000km away from the nearest tectonic plate boundary.

Is the Dead Sea part of the Great Rift valley?

The Dead Sea is a rift lake in the Jordan Rift Valley. Although the Dead Sea is not the world’s deepest lake, the deep Jordan Rift makes it the lowest land elevation on Earth.

How old is the Great Rift valley?

30 million years

The rift has been forming for some 30 million years (as Africa and the Arabian Peninsula separated) and has been accompanied by extensive volcanism along parts of its length, producing such massifs as Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Crater rim of Kilimanjaro at dawn.

Is Mahanadi a Rift Valley river?

Mahanadi does not flow through a rift valley.

What animals live in the Great Rift valley?

The Great Rift Valley’s inhabitants include lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, cheetahs, giraffes, antelopes, zebras and primates.

What are 3 facts about the Great Rift Valley?

The Great Rift Valley has many national parks, such as Virunga National Park. Also found here are Lake Nyasa, the Shire River, and the highest mountains, such as Mount Kilimanjaro. The Shire River is one of the rivers found in Lake Malawi. The Dead Sea is indeed a feature of the Great Rift Valley.

Why are Rift Valley lakes salty?

The rains chemically interact with rift terrains, which are dominated with natrocarbonatitic volcanic materials, thus transporting dissolved salts to the lakes. In addition, hot springs around the shores of these lakes carry significant salinity loads into the lakes.

How deep is the Great Rift Valley?

The Great Rift Valley runs north to south for 5000 km, varies in width from 30-100 km, and is between several hundred to several thousand metres deep at any given point.

How many countries are in the rift valley?

The Rift Valley, located in Eastern Africa, covers just over 2% of the continent and spreads over seven countries (Map 5 and Table 29).

Where is Africa splitting apart?

The African continent is slowly separating into several large and small tectonic blocks along the diverging East African Rift System, continuing to Madagascar – the long island just off the coast of Southeast Africa – that itself will also break apart into smaller islands.

How do you draw a rift valley?

Quote from video:And I put a dot. And from that dot I'm going to draw a curved line down in out curved line down in out curved line out and leave it floating I come back to my dot.

What are examples of rift valleys?

What are examples of rift valleys? Some examples of rift valleys are the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the East African Rift Valley, the Rio Grande Rift Valley, and the East Pacific Rift Valley.

Why is the rift valley important to Africa?

The system of rift valleys that characterizes the African continent represents a perfect environment to understand the evolution of mankind; for the important paleoanthropological discoveries in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire, the African rift valleys are indeed considered the “cradle of mankind”, that is …

What will happen if a rift valley continues to pull apart?

If these two rift zones continue they will break apart the crustal plates they are located on and will create new plates. Sea water will flood the rift valleys and they will eventually become seas like the Red Sea.

What forces result in the formation of rift valleys?

Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear depression may subsequently be further deepened by the forces of erosion. More generally the valley is likely to be filled with sedimentary deposits derived from the rift flanks and the surrounding areas.

Is a rift valley convergent or divergent?

Areas where plates are colliding form convergent boundaries, and areas where plates are expanding create divergent boundaries. Rift valleys are formed by divergent boundaries that involve continental plates.

Is rift valley a divergent?

Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which eventually become rift valleys. Most active divergent plate boundaries occur between oceanic plates and exist as mid-oceanic ridges.

Is rift valley formed by folding?

2. Block mountains are formed due to faulting of earth crust.

Where does rift valley start and end?

Come and visit the Great Rift Valley.



The Rift Valley starts all the way from Jordan, Middle-East, and runs through Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, Malawi, and ends near the coastal town of Solada in Mozambique.

How is a rift valley formed Class 7?

They are formed due to the collision of tectonic plates. They are formed due to the sinking of land between two river basins. They are formed due to the sinking of land between two normal faults or deep slopes.