In the geologic history of Earth, shifting plate tectonics are commonplace, and Africa's impending rift is but another chapter in that story. The Earth's continents are far from constant.

These convergent boundaries also occur where a plate of ocean dives ... On land, giant troughs such as the Great Rift Valley in Africa form where plates are tugged apart. If the plates there ...

This process is occurring along the East African Rift System (EARS), a tectonic plate boundary where the African Plate is being pulled apart. The East African Rift is causing the continent to ...