The Great Rift Valley runs for approximately 8 700 kilometres
(5 406 miles) stretching from Syria in the north to Mozambique in the south. Created by the rifting and tectonic forces of East Africa and Saudi Arabia millions of years ago, the Great Rift Valley is actually divided into two forks, the eastern rift and the western rift. The latter is surrounded by some of the highest mountains and deepest lakes in Africa.
Geological features comprising tall mountains, deep lakes and steep gorges
Created by tectonic forces in the earth’s crust
Lake Victoria – the second largest lake in the world
Thousands of flamingoes and pelicans abound
The area is volcanically and seismically active and has produced the volcanic Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, as well as the deep lakes, Victoria and Tanganyika. Evidence of volcanic activity along the rift is seen by the presence of numerous boiling hot springs. The rift also formed a series of shallow soda lakes in Kenya, which attract thousands of flamingoes and pelicans.
Named by the explorer John Walter Gregory, the Rift Valley is continuously moving and in a few million years, eastern Africa will probably split off to form a new land mass. A number of national parks make up the Rift Valley, creating a protected environment in which diverse flora and fauna thrive in spectacularly scenic surroundings.
The Rift System has been a great source of archaeological and anthropological discovery, particularly evident at Olduvai Gorge in the eastern Serengeti.
