The valley contains the Cherangani Hills and a chain of volcanoes, some of which are still active. As the rift widens and thins, upwelling asthenosphere can melt to produce magmas that start to create new oceanic lithosphere and … Ancient faults of the Reelfoot Rift have presumably been reactivated to form the complex fault structures seen in the distribution of earthquakes. The larvae and crustaceans are food for fish and greater flamingos. Extraterrestrial rift valleys are also known to occur on other terrestrial planets and natural satellites. Most rain falls during the March–June and October–November periods. The most prominent example of a continental rift is the East-African Rift Valley and its continuations into the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Its northern edge is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) southwest of Nairobi, while the southern edge is near the Tanzanian border, at the northwestern corner of Lake Natron. When these bends or discontinuities are in the same direction as the relative motions along the fault, extension occurs. Ngong Hills are peaks in a ridge along the east of the Great Rift Valley, located southwest near Nairobi. Examples of this type of rift include the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the East Pacific Rise. There are large deposits of Fluorite in the Kerio Valley area. Other rift valleys are the result of bends or discontinuities in horizontally-moving (strike-slip) faults. Yet further south the Nguruman Escarpment is around 50 kilometers long and elongated in N-W direction. [2] Lake Baikal in Siberia, a World Heritage Site,[3] lies in an active rift valley. Two locations are marked within the rift valley of East Africa, and another location is marked within the Red Sea. Volcanoes have been constructed within the valley by rising magma. There the plates have fully separated, and the central rift valley has dropped below sea level. The 2,000 km long Ithaca Chasma on Tethys in the Saturn system is a prominent example. [12] A recent study suggests a complex system of ancient lunar rift valleys, including Vallis Rheita and Vallis Alpes. In these instances, not only the crust but entire tectonic plates are in the process of breaking apart to create new plates. It is part of the Gregory Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift, which starts in Tanzania to the south and continues northward into Ethiopia. The largest subglacial lake, Lake Vostok, may also lie in an ancient rift valley. ; fissure; cleft; chink. The valley is bordered by escarpments to the east and west. The Kenya lake system is surrounded by the steep escarpment of the Rift Valley, which provides a spectacular backdrop.[15]. Kenya is home to 64 (9.50%) of the total lakes found within the continent of Africa. The climate is mild, with temperatures usually below 28 °C (82 °F). Lava flows from the most recent eruptions are still not covered by vegetation, and may be no more than one hundred years old. [2] In the past, it was seen as part of a "Great Rift Valley" that ran from Madagascar to Syria. The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. Mount Suswa is a shield volcano located between Narok and Nairobi. A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault. The Hell's Gate National Park lies south of Lake Naivasha. Other lakes are Lake Chew Bahir, in the northeast extension. [10], Lake Turkana, at the northern end of the rift, is 250 kilometres (160 mi) long, between 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) and 30 kilometres (19 mi) wide and is 125 metres (410 ft) at its greatest depth. Their numbers cause trampling of the silts in certain areas, while the feeding grounds are oxygenated due to probing beaks in the mud. [11] The Elgeyo escarpment forms part of the western wall. [14], Three shallow alkaline lakes and the surrounding lands make up the Kenya lake system: Lake Bogoria at 10,700 hectares (26,000 acres), Lake Nakuru at 18,800 hectares (46,000 acres) and Lake Elementaita at 2,534 hectares (6,260 acres). Lake Kamnarok is another small lake. Rift definition, an opening made by splitting, cleaving, etc. Visit the Interactive Plate Boundary Map to explore satellite images of divergent boundaries between continental plates. The relics of many hominids, ancestors of humans, have been found here.[4]. Another rift, the East African Rift Valley, is still in the phase where it forms a graben that is 'trying' to rip East-Africa apart from the rest of Africa. This system has one of the most diverse populations of birds in the world, and is the home of thirteen globally threatened species of bird. When the tensional forces are strong enough to cause the plate to split apart, a center block drops between the two blocks at its flanks, forming a graben. [10][11] Some natural satellites also have prominent rift valleys. In the view of many geologists today, the Dead Sea lies in a rift which results from a leftward discontinuity in the left lateral-moving Dead Sea Transform fault. Continental Rifting - A new divergent plate boundary can form when continental lithosphere stretches, and thins to form a rift valley. [9] Eight of these make up the main lakes in the Kenyan Rift Valley. [6] In the early 1900s, Mount Longonot erupted, and ash can still be felt around Hell's Gate. It produces about 250,000 metric tonnes per year. Menengai is a massive shield volcano in the floor of the rift with a caldera that formed about 8,000 years ago. Some of the soils are Andisols, fertile soils from relatively recent volcanic activity. Trough formation through super-isostasy, stress, sedimentation, and subsidence", "Venus tectonics: An overview of Magellan observations", "Birth of Uranus' provocative moon still puzzles scientists", "Voyager 2 in the Uranian System: Imaging Science Results", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rift_valley&oldid=997424115, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 31 December 2020, at 12:44. [13] Other precious minerals like rubies and pink sapphires have been found and mined from areas around Lake Baringo. Most of the other lakes are shallow and poorly drained, and therefore have become alkaline. [12], Trona, an evaporative mineral, used for sodium carbonate production, has been mined at Lake Magadi for nearly 100 years. The lands around the lakes include large populations of black rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, greater kudu, lion, cheetah and wild dogs. The Afar region in Northern Ethiopia is the centre of a “Y” shaped rift system, where the continental lithosphere is being stretched and is splitting.. It is an important nesting and breeding site for great white pelicans, and is the most important feeding area for lesser flamingos in the world. [7][8] Some features of Venus, most notably, the 4,000 km Devana Chasma[9] and a part of the western Eistla, and possibly also Alta and Bell Regio have been interpreted by some planetary geologists as rift valleys. [7] Mount Longonot is a dormant stratovolcano located southeast of Lake Naivasha. The Suguta Valley, or Suguta Mud Flats, is an arid part of the Great Rift Valley directly south of Lake Turkana. See more. A rift valley is formed on a divergent plate boundary, a crustal extension or spreading apart of the surface, which is subsequently further deepened by the forces of erosion. [4] Lake Tanganyika, second by both measures, is in the Albertine Rift, the westernmost arm of the active East African Rift. Their nest mounds can also be preserved and cemented as the lake's water levels change. Paka is a shield volcano, with widespread geothermal activity. The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. They have waters that are rich in blue-green algae, which feed insect larvae, small crustaceans and lesser flamingos. The Tugen Hills to the west of Lake Baringo contain fossils preserved in lava flows from the period 14 to 4 million years ago. Lake Superior in North America, the largest freshwater lake by area, lies in the ancient and dormant Midcontinent Rift. [6] Þingvallavatn, Iceland's largest natural lake, is also an example of a rift lake. [5] Lake Nipissing and Lake Timiskaming in Ontario and Quebec, Canada lie inside a rift valley called the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben. … The East African Rift (EAR) is a continental rift valley in Eastern Africa and is a unique type of divergent plate boundary in that it is 1) in its early stages of development and 2) primarily on land. If they continue, continental rifts will eventually become oceanic rifts. Many existing continental rift valleys are the result of a failed arm (aulacogen) of a triple junction, although there are two, the East African Rift and the Baikal Rift Zone, which are currently active, as well as a third which may be, the West Antarctic Rift System. Let's rewind it. South of Paka are Mount Korosi, Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria. [15], The Kenya lake system is a key location on the West Asian-East African Flyway, a route followed by huge numbers of birds in their annual migration from breeding grounds in the north to wintering places in Africa. [15], Linear lowland created by a tectonic rift or fault, "Rift processes at the Valles Marineris, Mars: Constraints from gravity on necking and rate-dependent strength evolution", "The formation of Valles Marineris: 3. These form irregularities in the lakeside topography. Where a fault breaks into two strands, or two faults run close to each other, crustal extension may also occur between them, as a result of differences in their motions. This lake lies mainly in Ethiopia but extends into Kenya in the rainy season. In 2004, over 2 kilograms of Corundum were collected. Right now, South America and Africa are moving away from each other, because of new plate material being created at the mid-Atlantic rift. (modified from USGS). In addition to being home to active volcanoes like Mt. The Aberdare Range forms a section of the eastern rim of the Great Rift Valley to the north of Nairobi. Charon's Nostromo Chasma is the first confirmed in the Pluto system, however large chasms up to 950 km wide observed on Charon have also been tentatively interpreted by some as giant rifts, and similar formations have also been noted on Pluto. The oldest continental rocks are billions of years old, so the continents have had a lot of time for things to happen to them. The Kerio Valley lies between the Tugen Hills and the Elgeyo escarpment at an elevation of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) The floor is broken by volcanoes, some still active, and contains a series of lakes. It is part of the Gregory Rift, the eastern branch of the East African Rift, which starts in Tanzania to the south and continues northward into Ethiopia. Massive flocks of these birds have been found to have an effect on the lakeside sediments also. For example, for a right lateral-moving fault, a bend to the right will result in stretching and consequent subsidence in the area of the irregularity. Sketch by John Walter Gregory from his expedition to East Africa in 1892-3. They are often associated with a number of adjoining subsidiary or co-extensive valleys, which are typically considered part of the principal rift valley geologically. The shield volcano Emuruangogolak straddles the valley to the south of Suguta, and further south Mount Silali and Paka rise from the valley floor. The mountains form a ridge between these two peaks. The system is home to globally important populations of black-necked grebe, African spoonbill, pied avocet, little grebe, yellow-billed stork, black-winged stilt, grey-headed gull and gull-billed tern. This region also includes Lake Elementaita, Mount Kipipiri and Lake Naivasha. Baikal is both the deepest lake in the world and, with 20% of all of the liquid freshwater on earth, has the greatest volume. [1] On Earth, rifts can occur at all elevations, from the sea floor to plateaus and mountain ranges in continental crust or in oceanic crust. [13] The Uranus system also has prominent examples, with large 'chasma' believed to be giant rift valley systems, most notably the 1492 km long Messina Chasma on Titania, 622 km Kachina Chasmata on Ariel, Verona Rupes on Miranda,[14] and Mommur Chasma on Oberon. [5] It overlooks Lake Nakuru to the south. Further south the Mau Escarpment is a steep natural cliff approximately 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high, running along the western edge of the Great Rift Valley about Lake Naivasha. [3] This region has experienced at least four series of large earthquakes over the past 2500 years, including three with magnitudes of 7.0, 7.2, and 7.5 in 1811–1812. [3] A rift valley is a lowland region that forms where Earth’s tectonic plates move apart, or rift.Rift valleys are found both on land and at the bottom of the ocean, where they are created by the process of seafloor spreading.Rift valleys differ from river valleys and glacial valleys in that they are created by tectonic activity and not the process of erosion. The most extensive rift valley is located along the crest of the mid-ocean ridge system and is the result of sea floor spreading. The drop of the center creates the nearly parallel steeply dipping walls of a rift valley when it is new. [3] Of those eight, only Lakes Baringo and Naivasha are fresh water. Mount Satima lies at the northern end of the Aberdares and is their highest point, and Mount Kinangop at the southern end is the second highest. Most of the valley falls within the former Rift Valley Province. This scene is within the East African Rift where the crust is being pulled apart to form a large valley. "[Mount] Kenya from the Kapte Plains west of Machakos", The Great Rift Valley from near Eldoret, Kenya in the fall of 2006, An adult purple heron with chicks on a nest at Lake Baringo, An African fish eagle about to catch a fish in Lake Naivasha, Part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya, Location of Great Rift Valley, Kenya in Kenya, "New ruby and pink sapphire deposit in the Lake Baringo area, Kenya", "Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Rift_Valley,_Kenya&oldid=1011444274, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 10 March 2021, at 22:46. Both types of fault-caused extension commonly occur on a small scale, producing such features as sag ponds or landslides. [1] It was formed on the "Kenyan Dome" a geographical upwelling created by the interactions of three major tectonics: the Arabian, Nubian, and Somalian plates.