San Andreas Fault
See the diagonal line that runs through the orchard in the incredible photo above? that’s the san andreas fault – a point where the edges of 2 tectonic plates meet – producing a visible displacement amongst the rows of trees.
when they were planted years ago the rows were straight, but as the 2 ginormous land masses moved in opposite directions and rubbed against each other over the years the orchard was split. the top half of the field sits on the pacific plate, the bottom half on the north american plate.
Alfagja Rift Valley
here’s another fault line. it’s called alfagja rift valley and can be found in reykjanes, iceland. at one point along the rift the two plates (eurasian and north american), have been connected by the miðlína bridge, seen in the photo. on the left: eurasia, on the right: north america.
Tectonic rift, thingvellir, iceland.
The incredible walls of a huge tectonic crack in aguateca, used as a defense by the mayas. the rift is 1 ½ km long and measures between 2 and 10 metres wide.
Tectonic rifts of this magnitude usually develop at a rate too slow for the human eye to notice. however back in september 2005, a 60km long collection of cracks opened up in ethiopia’s afar region, all over the space of 3 weeks. over the next year the fissures widened until in september 2006 a volcanic vent opened up and blew open a ½ km long crack. the area in question – the afar triangle – is a meeting point of 3 tectonic plates and geologists predict that soon (by soon they mean approximately 10 million years) it will sink and become a new ocean basin, splitting the continent apart.
Volcanic vent
The volcanic vent that opened up in 2006, surrounded by ash
a close-up of the huge vent
A Crack in the Ethiopian Landscape
In 2005, the earth cracked open in Ethiopia.Discover Earth’s significant geological features: San Andreas Fault in California. Alfagja Rift Valley and Thingvellir Rift in Iceland. These rifts reveal dynamic tectonic processes shaping our planet. The San Andreas Fault, renowned for seismic activity, impacts California’s geology and earthquake risk. Alfagja and Thingvellir Rifts exemplify plate movements, showing continental drift and volcanic processes. Ethiopia’s tectonic crack adds to diverse geological landscapes and formations. Explore these marvels for insights into Earth’s changing surface and powerful reshaping forces. Says lead researcher Atalay Ayele: “The ocean’s formation is happening slowly, likely to take a few million years. It will stretch from the Afar depression (straddling Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti) down to Mozambique:
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