The continent of Africa is literally tearing apart and will separate in two according to geologists. The amazing statement is based on research regarding tectonic plate movements that scientists are able to track and trace. In fact, this process is already occurring, and a huge split can be seen emerging in the land that will eventually develop into a full-blown tear and separation.
Tectonic plates are the huge pieces of crust upon which the world lies. There are 15 major tectonic plates which move all the time, and have been moving, ever since the formation of the Earth as we know it.
While these plates usually move very slowly, millimetres per year, in areas where two plates meet, such as the Pacific coast of the United States, there can also be frequent tectonic activity such as earthquakes and volcanoes.
It is the movement of two tectonic plates under Africa, known as the African plate and the Arabian plate, that will eventually see the continent tear apart. The two plates in the East of the country, under what is currently Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia will eventually come apart allowing water from the Indian Ocean and Red Sea to come flooding in, creating a new ocean within the current landmass.
Not only will this result in a new weather system for the area, but the split will entirely alter the way a map of the world looks. This is something future humans will simply have to deal with going forward as there is nothing we can do about it. Thankfully, because the process is so slow, it does mean that we should be able to adapt easily in time.
We, after all, are just at one point in the Earth's natural evolution.
Indeed, up until 175 million years ago the whole of Earth's landmass was held together in one giant continent known as Pangea, which eventually broke apart and drifted into separate continents due to tectonic shift. Even the world's most prominent features we see today were the result of this breaking apart and recolliding of the new continents. When the landmass that is today India collided with the landmass that is today China, what emerged from the 'squish' was the Himalayas and the highest mountains in the world.
The video bellow explains the African split in more detail:
COMMENTS