Africa is sometimes nicknamed the “Mother Continent” due to its being the oldest inhabited continent on Earth. Humans and human ancestors have lived in Africa for more than 5 million years. Africa, the second largest continent, is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
In the recent scientist discovery, Africa is going through a breakup. Scientists say it’s splitting into two land masses, with a new ocean one day running through the middle.
The continent of Africa could split into two parts by the formation of a new ocean in the distant future, according to researchers. Two major sections of the continent are splitting apart, which could result in the creation of a new body of water, i.e. an ocean.
It would mean that landlocked countries, such as Uganda and Zambia, could have coastlines in a few years. The formation of the East African Rift, a 56-kilometer-long rift in the deserts of Ethiopia formed in 2005, marked the beginning of the creation of a new sea.
Is the Continent of Africa Splitting?
The continent of Africa is not splitting but according to researchers, A new ocean could form in the distant future which could lead the split of Africa continent. But it would take millions of years, geologists say, and a lot of help from other land features on the continent.
Why Researchers Opined the Continent of Africa will Split
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East Africa Rift System
The rift that split in 2005 is part of the much larger East Africa Rift System , a network of rifts and valleys that first appeared about 25 million years ago as the first apes were evolving in Africa. Over time, the system branched out and spread south to where it ends today in Mozambique, near the Indian Ocean. Along the way, EARS skirted Lake Victoria by splitting into two different paths.
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Shifting tectonic plates
Shifting tectonic plates underlie the system, including the Somali Plate to the East, the large African (or Nubian) Plate, and the Arabian Plate to the Northeast. Caught in the middle of these massive slabs of land is the smaller Victorian Plate, which is made of harder stuff and sits like a rock in a geologic stream. As the rift expands, sections of the Somali Plate could drift out to the Indian Ocean and open up a narrow sea within the continent.
