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The Great Rift Valley will Lead to the Somali Plate A real-life triple rift is shown on the left between Africa and Saudi Arabia. The two arms of the Y are the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The stem of the Y is the Great Rift Valley, which is tearing Africa apart. Eventually, as the rift deepens and widens, surrounding waters will rush in to create a new gulf, or sea, as Somalia breaks away from Africa to form the new Somali Plate. Notice how the small island of Madagascar fits snuggly into the African mainland.That's no coincidence!
The Great Rift Valley was created by the moving of tectonic plates beneath the crust of Africa about 40 million years ago. Since then, land has shifted, volcanoes have erupted, and channels to the sea have closed. All these geological events helped create numerous lakes along the Great Rift Valley. Some, such as Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika, have formed in the rifts, and the vast Lake Victoria is located in a shallow depression between the two rifts.
