There is a four thousand mile crack in Africa. It goes from the Red Sea down to Mozambique. While the Nubian and Somali plates move very slowly - millimetres a year, there are occasions when giant cracks open up overnight. THis happened in Kenya in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2005.
What makes this news in 2026? There is the recent discovery of a superplume, a gigantic column of superheated, molten rock rising from inside the Earth's mantle. Studying hot springs in Zambia, scientists for ancient gases leading from deep underground. This proved that a separate branch of the risk system is active and opening the crust far below the surface. In about 5 to 10 million years, the gap will grow deep enough for ocean water to flood in, creating a new sea. East Africa would become its own separate "island".
In the past, there was debate over whether the East African Rift would break, so the new research marks a significant update. It puts Africa's "breakup" sooner than originally expected.
Here's the geologist's joke: Why is Africa taking so long to split in two? Because it's committed to a really, really long-term relationship status: "It's complicated (give it 10 million years)."
Here's a picture of Brian's hybrid lily named Peaches on Chocolate.
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