Where is the Great Rift Valley in Africa?
Eastern Africa
The Rift Valley, located in Eastern Africa, covers just over 2% of the continent and spreads over seven countries (Map 5 and Table 29). min. max. The Rift Valley consists of a group of independent interior basins, extending from Djibouti in the north to Tanzania in the south, nearly half being located in Ethiopia.
Where is Albertine Rift located?
central Africa
The Albertine Rift encompasses the Great Lakes of central Africa, stretching from the northern tip of Lake Albert to the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika. The Rift is located within six countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Is there a major Rift Valley in Africa?
Throughout the East African Rift, the continent of Africa is splitting in two. The African plate, sometimes called the Nubian plate, carries most of the continent, while the smaller Somali plate carries Horn of Africa. The two major rift valley systems of the East African Rift are the Gregory Rift and the Western Rift.
Which is the longest rift valley in the world?
List
| World | Rift/Valley | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Earth | Great Rift Valley | 6,000 km (3,700 mi) |
| Canadian Arctic Rift System | 4,800 km (3,000 mi) | |
| West Antarctic Rift System | ||
| Midcontinent Rift System | 2,000 km (1,200 mi) |
In which two countries is the Great Rift Valley?
In Kenya, Uganda and the fringes of South Sudan, the Great Rift runs along two separate branches that are joined to each other only at their southern end, in Southern Tanzania along its border with Zambia. The two branches are called the Western Rift Valley and the Eastern Rift Valley.
What is Albertine Rift valley?
The Albertine Rift or Africa’s Western Rift Valley is one of the most biodiverse regions of the African continent. It also conserves more threatened and endemic species than any other region of Africa, and as a result is a Biodiversity Hotspot, a Global 200 Ecoregion and an Endemic Bird Area.
What does rift mean in science?
In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben with normal faulting and rift-flank uplifts mainly on one side.
Which African country is divided in two by the Great Rift Valley?
How was the East African Rift Valley formed?
The East African Rift Valley, as the region is known, formed where the Somalian and Nubian plates are pulling away from the Arabian Plate. The eastern branch of the rift passes through Ethiopia and Kenya, and the western branch forms a giant arc from Uganda to Malawi.
What are the features of the Albertine Rift?
Visible features include (from background to foreground, looking north): Lake Albert, Rwenzori Mountains, Lake Edward, Virunga Mountains, Lake Kivu, and northern Lake Tanganyika The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania .
Is the Albertine Rift forest threatened with extinction?
The Albertine Rift is an area of exceptional endemism, and contains many species threatened with global extinction, particularly within the mountain forest habitats. Over 50% of birds, 39% of mammals, 19% of amphibians, and 14% of reptiles and plants found in mainland Africa occur in the Albertine Rift.
What are the highest mountains in the Rift Valley?
The Western Rift, also called the Albertine Rift, is bordered by some of the highest mountains in Africa, including the Virunga Mountains, Mitumba Mountains, and Ruwenzori Range. It contains the Rift Valley lakes, which include some of the deepest lakes in the world (up to 1,470 metres…
Where does the Great Rift Valley End in Africa?
Africa. The southern section of the Rift Valley includes Lake Malawi, the third-deepest freshwater body in the world, reaching 706 metres (2,316 ft) in depth and separating the Nyassa plateau of Northern Mozambique from Malawi; it ends in the Zambezi valley.