The stretching and thinning of continental crust as tectonic forces pull it apart, producing a linear depression, or rift valley, that can eventually widen into a new ocean basin if extension continues long enough. The East African Rift, actively splitting the African continent today, is the world's clearest example in progress.
Facts
Process Type Continental Rifting
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The Danakil Depression is a geological depression formed by rifting.
Source Danakil Depression (Wikipedia)
Source African Great Lakes (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Rift, Wikipedia
Opening definitionQuote, Opening definition
A rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics.
Danakil Depression (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: Danakil Depression, Lead sectionQuote, Shaped: Danakil Depression, Lead section
The Danakil Depression is a geological depression formed by rifting.
African Great Lakes (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: The African Great Lakes Region, Geology/formation-of-the-lakes sectionQuote, Shaped: The African Great Lakes Region, Geology/formation-of-the-lakes section
This rift began when East Africa, impelled by currents in the mantle, began separating from the rest of Africa, moving to the northeast.
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