Composition Of The Floor Afar Triangle

In the remote afar depression in northern ethiopia the african continent is slowly splitting apart and a new ocean is forming.

Composition of the floor afar triangle. The floor of. It is the third most populous nation in africa with over 70 million people and the tenth largest by area. And it is thought by some paleontologists to be the cradle of the evolution of humans see middle awash hadar. Other articles where afar triangle is discussed.

Includes all of djibouti the afar region in ethiopia as well as areas of eritrea and somalia. It is bound to the west by the ethiopian plateau and escarpment to the northeast by the danakil block to the southeast by the ali sabieh block and to the south by the somalian plateau and escarpment. That is the earliest of the human clade. Here the upwelling magma is of a characteristic composition low in silica content normally found at mid oceanic rifts.

This geologic feature is one of earth s great active volcanic areas so the floor of the depression is composed of lava mostly basalt. Normally geological processes such as the formation of rivers seas and mountains is a painfully slow process but in the afar triangle near the horn of africa this is happening at a staggering rate. Thermal infrared afar triangle ethiopia. The afar triangle is bordered by high areas as shown on the topographic map.

Volcanoes of the afar triangle ethiopia dereje ayalew department of earth sciences school of earth and planetary sceinces addis ababa university ethiopia located in the horn of africa is one of the most ancient countries in the world. The afar triangle the northern part of which is the danakil depression is part of the great rift valley of ethiopia and is located in the north of the region it has the lowest point in ethiopia and one of the lowest in africa. The afar triangle also called the afar depression is a geological depression caused by the afar triple junction which is part of the great rift valley in east africa the region has disclosed fossil specimens of the very earliest hominins. The southern part of the region consists of the valley of the awash river which empties into a string of lakes along the ethiopian djibouti border.

The afar depression is an area of lowland plains split by fault blocks and dotted with shield volcanoes. The barren deserts of the afar triangle constitute a basaltic ocean floor terrain on a divergent plate boundary that is above sea level because it lies over a hot spot. During the third stage sea floor. The afar triangle at the foot of the red sea is shaped by newly formed faults that cut unweathered basaltic lava flows on a newly emergent seafloor in an almost totally tectonic landscape.

The region more and more resembles a sea floor where only the water is missing.