Africa Gradually Breaking Apart, New Ocean Possible

Scientists have discovered that Africa is slowly splitting apart along a huge crack called the East African Rift.

This process has been happening for about 25 million years and is caused by the movement of big pieces of the Earth's crust called tectonic plates.

The eastern part of Africa, known as the Somalian Plate, is moving away from the larger Nubian Plate, and both are also moving away from the Arabian Plate.

This is creating a Y-shaped crack system.

In the Afar region of Ethiopia, these three plates meet, which is a very special place because it's one of the few places in the world where three different rifts meet at the same time.

The Earth's crust in this area is already quite thin, and some parts are even below sea level.

As the land between these regions sinks further, seawater will start to fill in, eventually forming a new ocean.

The plates are moving apart very slowly, about 0.28 inches per year, so it will take millions of years for a new ocean to form.

However, this slow change can still affect people by increasing the risk of earthquakes and volcanic activity.