00:00Experts explain Africa is splitting in two, and it will look like this.
00:05Up close, the process is even more shocking, with a massive crack stretching from Mozambique
00:12in the south to the Red Sea in the north.
00:15This gap keeps growing every year, tearing apart the land and destroying homes.
00:20Now specialists believe the continent could split much sooner than we expect.
00:26Africa is breaking apart because of the Somali Plate Movement.
00:30Think of it like a dramatic breakup happening with tectonic plates.
00:34On the east side, there's the Somali Plate.
00:37On the west, we have the Nubian Plate.
00:40And during this breakup, the Somali Plate just wants more space, so is pulling away
00:45from the Nubian Plate.
00:47This movement is forming the East African Rift, a region where tectonic plates are splitting
00:53apart, magma keeps rising from deep below, and a bunch of active volcanoes are being
00:58born.
00:59So this place is hot, with daytime temperatures that can soar to 130°F, and at night, they
01:07cool down to 95°F.
01:10Inside this hot zone, we have the Afar Triangle, also known as the Afar Depression.
01:16And its geology is fascinating, as the rifting process is causing valleys, faults, and deep
01:21cracks to form in this region.
01:24Take for example this massive 35-mile-long fissure in Ethiopia's desert.
01:30It's also so wide that a person can easily fit inside of it.
01:35But what's scary is this crack keeps getting bigger, growing about a half an inch every
01:40year.
01:42The Nubian and Somali plates moving apart could also lead to a new ocean forming in
01:47Africa.
01:49This type of process isn't something new.
01:51About 150 million years ago, when dinosaurs were still around, a similar tectonic shift
01:57created the Atlantic Ocean.
02:00The continents were once all clustered together, but when a rift formed in what was Pangea,
02:06it started pulling them apart, splitting the East and West hemispheres.
02:12So a similar thing is happening with this gap in Africa.
02:15At some point, experts say the waters of the Indian Ocean might flood the East African
02:20Rift Valley, eventually creating a 6th ocean.
02:25Now it's a pity you won't be able to swim in its waters during your lifetime, though.
02:29According to geophysicist Ken McDonald, who specializes in tectonic faults, this dramatic
02:35rupture could happen in 1-5 million years.
02:39Trust me, that's considered fast in geologic terms, and way sooner than most experts thought.
02:45Now even though you won't get to watch Africa breaking apart, people there will still
02:50see and feel the signs.
02:52They might experience intense volcanic eruptions and strong earthquakes as this process slowly
02:58unfolds.
03:00One example is related to that scary crack in Ethiopia's desert we mentioned earlier.
03:05The fissure was created in 2005, after the area was hit by two volcanic eruptions and
03:11163 earthquakes, each with a magnitude greater than 3.9.
03:17A crack this deep and long on Earth usually takes centuries to form, but in this case,
03:23it unfolded in just a matter of days.
03:25That's how powerful this event is.
03:30In fact, this kind of intense seismic activity can speed up the African splitting process,
03:36and that's why it's so hard to predict the exact time frame for the event.
03:40What we know is that people are already calling this new land the Nubian continent.
03:46If the predictions are right, it will include Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and part of Ethiopia.
03:53That's exciting and concerning at the same time.
03:56As new coastlines emerge, countries will need to make major adjustments when it comes to
04:01infrastructure and land management.
04:03They might lose a lot of roads, houses, and other constructions currently located near
04:08or right in the East African Rift.
04:11In Kenya, for example, the fissures tore apart a busy road, and authorities desperately tried
04:17to fill the gap with rocks and cement.
04:20In another case, an old woman was sitting and eating with her family when her house
04:24suddenly split down the middle.
04:26Recently, earthquakes that happened near Ethiopia's Afar region demolished 37 schools and forced
04:33about 5,000 students to leave their classrooms.
04:36Unfortunately, stories like this could become more common over the next few years.
04:43But there is a positive side to all this.
04:46Countries located in the middle of Africa, like Zambia and Uganda, could gain coastlines,
04:52and that might be great for them.
04:54Having a coast means they would get access to new trade routes, opening fresh economic
04:59opportunities.
05:00Plus, think about the tourism boom.
05:03With all those newly formed paradisiacal beaches, these countries could become the
05:07next big gateway spot for travelers.
05:10The local ecosystem in this newly created ocean will change as well, and new marine
05:15species may emerge.
05:18So let's look.
05:20This is the path where the rift is most advanced right now.
05:23I mean, we expect this is where Africa will eventually get separated.
05:28But things could get a little more complicated.
05:32Some time ago, Michael Daly, a geologist at the University of Oxford, suggested that
05:37this rift could extend further west.
05:39And some new evidence backs up his theory, pointing out that the crack could extend south
05:44through Botswana's heartland into South Africa, and west through Namibia, all the
05:49way to the Atlantic Ocean.
05:52If these fractures widen into deep cracks, the ocean might come in and fill the gaps.
05:58Experts say Africa could split so much that it becomes an archipelago.
06:03But then again, we won't see that happening.
06:05It will take tens of millions of years for this to play out.
06:09We already know that Africa is at risk of breaking into a bunch of huge islands, or
06:14small continents.
06:16The news isn't great for Madagascar either, as the world's fourth-largest island could
06:20end up being split in half.
06:23But can the opposite process happen?
06:25I mean, can new land appear as the Nubian and Somali plates move apart?
06:30Well, as these tectonic plates get away from each other, the magma from the Earth's mantle
06:36might rise to the surface, and when it cools, it solidifies into new land.
06:41That's how other places in the world emerged, like Iceland and the Azores.
06:46So yeah, the same process could happen in the East African Rift, and over the long term,
06:52it is possible that the Rift could create new islands.
06:57For now, all we can say is that the geology of the Afar Depression is unique.
07:03It is the most active rift system on our planet.
07:06And when I say rift system, I mean a zone where tectonic plates are pulling apart.
07:12This region brings together all kinds of events, from faults in the Earth's crust to volcanic
07:17zones to the potential formation of a sixth ocean.
07:21For experts, it's like studying the evolution of rifts up close.
07:27And since it is such an active volcanic area, it also has enormous potential for tapping
07:32into geothermal energy, that is, using heat from inside the Earth to generate electricity.
07:38Two geothermal power plants are already producing energy in Ethiopia, one in the Ethiopian Rift
07:44Valley and the other in the Afar.
07:47Now geologists are exploring new potential spots.
07:51When we look at that deep crack in the ground, we know it's caused by tectonic plate movement.
07:56There's no mystery there.
07:58But what we still don't fully understand is why the cracks happen exactly where they
08:03do.
08:05For example, a crack that opened up in Botswana appeared after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake
08:11back in 2017.
08:13But the epicenter wasn't in the rift zone, where the plates are moving, like we would
08:17expect.
08:18Instead, it was farther south.
08:21Since it's unusual for a rift to happen without volcanic activity, this fact really
08:26challenges our traditional ideas of how continents divide.
08:31Figuring out why these cracks appear in specific spots is still a missing piece of the puzzle
08:36for experts trying to explain how Africa is splitting.
08:40Hopefully, we get some answers before the continent turns into a massive archipelago.
08:48That's it for today!
08:49So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:53friends.
08:54Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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