Shocking photo shows Africa splitting in two as a new continent is formed

The African continent is literally tearing apart as new oceans form, and it’s one of the most stunning stories from the natural world we can remember.

Photos of the dramatic split, taken by Julie Rowland of the University of Auckland, show two huge tracts of land in Kenya have parted as a new ocean begins to form.

The developments could mean that otherwise landlocked countries on the continent could at some point have a coastline.

In fact, Zambia and Uganda could soon border an ocean – just it might take a few million years. It is also thought that the gap will eventually become so wide that East Africa will form a separate continent.

The rift that formed when the continent shifted is known as the East African Rift, and was created when the African, Arabian and Somali tectonic plates moved apart at a rate of about an inch per year.

The East African Rift Valleywww.youtube.com

The phenomenon has fascinated scientists since it was first discovered in 2005 in Ethiopia and is 56 kilometers long.

Research on the position in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Ken Macdonald is a marine geophysicist and professor emeritus at the University of California. MacDonald said: “With GPS measurements you can measure movement rates of up to a few millimeters per year. As we get more and more measurements from GPS, we can get a much better idea of ​​what’s going on.

“The Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea will flow over the Afar region and the East African Rift Valley and become a new ocean, and that part of East Africa will become its own little continent.”

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