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.

In regions of convergence, one plate can sink under another in a subduction zone, or two colliding plates can form a mountain belt. At divergent boundaries, plates move away from each other and ...

reshaping East Africa's geography, and trade routes, and presenting both opportunities and challenges Here's a brief explanation: Aspect Details Phenomenon Before Plate Tectonics arrived and ...

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 ...

Whatever drives the movement, plate tectonic activity takes place at four types of boundaries: divergent boundaries, where new crust is formed; convergent boundaries, where crust is consumed ...

The chain runs down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (surfacing at Iceland), around Africa, through the Indian ... At the East Pacific rise, which is pushing a plate into the west coast of South ...