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Africa is Gradually Splitting Into Two

The Somali and the Nubian tectonic plates are slowly disintegrating from each other, while the Arabian plate continues to pull away. The continental rift, according to a recent study published in the Geophysical Research Letters journal, will happen along the east African Rift Valley, a geologically active region whose formation millions of years ago is similar to that of the tectonic movements that happen at the bottom of oceans. This means landlocked countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Zambia would inadvertently find themselves with a coastline, and thus, build harbors that connect them to the rest of the world directly. Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia would have two territories each. Though that will take between five to 10 million years, with fault lines widening 7 mm every year, the continent will eventually split into two sub-continents, creating a new ocean basin between them.

SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA

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