Somali Plate

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The Somali plate

The Somali plate is a tectonic plate at the Equator.

Its center is roughly the island of Madagascar. It includes about half of the east coast of Africa, from the Gulf of Aden in the north through the East African Rift Valley.[1]

It is moving away from the African plate, and making the Great Rift Valley. This rift valley has formed lakes and volcanoes, notably Mt. Kilimanjaro. Eventually the Somali Plate will break away from the African Plate.

References

  1. Saria, E; Calais, E.; Stamps, D.S.; Delvaux, D.; Hartnady, C.J.H. (20 March 2014). "Present-day Kinematics of the East African Rift". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 119 (4): 3584–3600. Bibcode:2014JGRB..119.3584S. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.723.5337. doi:10.1002/2013JB010901. S2CID 128891002.