A historic natural spectacle is taking place in the middle of Africa. Africa literally breaks apart, creating a kind of sister continent. It would also be followed by the formation of a huge ocean.
Huge crack in Africa’s soil causes major damage
Imagine you’re driving on the highway and suddenly the road opens up. Out of the window you see a 15 meter deep abyss to the side. From one second to the next. Panic sets in. But that’s not even the worst of it. The abyss is part of a huge crack that eats its way through the whole area. It even splits houses and causes them to collapse. Standing on the wrong spot would be fatal. Sounds like a bad movie, doesn’t it? No, because in Africa it actually happened like that! Near Mount Suswa near Kenya, Mother Nature flexed her muscles. The busy Mai-Mahiu-Narokt road, virtually the A1 of East Africa, was severely damaged. But why did this happen?
Earth plates play crazy
To do this, we have to strain our gray cells. There was something. Fifth grade geography: Our Earth consists of different, moving plates. So-called continental plates can move toward each other, away from each other, or past each other. A few centimeters of movement per year can make for a tremendous natural spectacle.
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Tectonic movements lead to cavities in the ground
Since the crack occurred at the so-called “Great African Rift Valley,” it happened under two plates that were moving away from each other. Their movement created cavities in the ground where rather loose, sandy rocks accumulated. After heavy rain, a kind of underground weathering took place – experts call it subrosion. In simple terms, sediment (loose material) was washed away and this led to the sudden subsidence of the ground. But this devastating crack was only the harbinger of a much more powerful natural spectacle. The plate movements have much more in store for the entire continent of Africa. It will undergo a unique change and turn the geology of the earth upside down.
Sister continent splits off and new ocean will be created
A massive sister continent will split off from Africa. The Red Sea will push its way into the “Great African Rift Valley” and create a new ocean in the middle of Africa. The separated piece of Africa may then officially be called the Somali Plate. The scientists still argue about the time of the separation in East Africa. From periods between ten and 50 million years are many estimates. The process of breaking apart has begun in any case and the crack in Suswa could also not remain the only harbinger up to the splitting off.
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