RIFT VALLEY FORMATION A rift valley is a large elongated depression in the Earth’s crust, bounded by parallel faults, that forms when the crust is pulled apart by tensional forces. This geological feature is a result of divergent plate boundaries where tectonic plates move away from each other, causing the crust to thin, crack, and sink. PROCESS OF FORMATION: 1. Initial Uplift – Mantle convection and heat buildup cause the lithosphere to bulge and stretch. 2. Crustal Fracturing – The brittle cru

The East African Rift is a significant tectonic rift that is gradually splitting the eastern part of Africa from the rest of the continent. This rift is part of the larger Great Rift Valley system, and it's caused by the movement of tectonic plates beneath the Earth's surface. Over millions of years, this rifting process could eventually lead to the formation of a new ocean, separating the eastern part of Africa (including countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia) from the rest of the contin

A new video shows a timelapse of the lava flows erupted in Kilauea's Lower East Rift Zone between May 16 and June 25. It was created from the GIS files produced for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory's map updates (https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/multimedia_maps.html), which may be downloaded at https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/imap/5afe0ba7e4b0da30c1bdb9db . Pre-2018 lava flows are shown with purple outlines, current flows in red, and the basemap is the USGS National Map (htt