Rift Valley Escarpment(Africa)

-
Named by explorer John Walter Gregory. Great Rift Valley is an enormous geological and geographical features that runs for 5,000km from northern Syria in southwestern Asia to Mozambique in East Africa. Formed by rifting and separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates around 35 million years ago.

The Valley varies in width from 30 to 100 km and in depth from a few hundred to several thousand meters. In East Africa the valley divides into two, the Western Rift Valley and the Eastern Rift Valley.

Western Rift Valley (Albertine) pass Lake Albert in Uganda, edged with some of mountains including Virunga , Mitumba , Ruwenzori Range and also Rift valley lakes, Lake Tanganyika, the deepest lake in the world (1,470 meters deep), Lake Nyasa, Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world considered part of the Rift Valley but it lies between the two branches.

Eastern Rift valley (Gregory) edged with Oldonyo lengai mountain, Olduvai gorge, Serengeti, Lake Natron, Lake Manyara also Ngorongoro.
Around Tanzania the valley is deepest to the northern, central and southern part.

As the valley has no outlet to the sea, its lakes tend to be shallow and have a high mineral content as the evaporation of water leaves the salts behind.Example, Lake Manyara, Lake Natron, Lake Eyasi , Lake Makat , Momela lakes are all alkaline .

In Kenya there are Lake Magadi (sodium carbonate), Lake Elmenteita, Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru and Naivasha.

Original faulting activity that created the Rift weakened the Earth's crust along its margins. All areas around are volcanically and seismically active producing volcanic mountains such as Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Meru and Mount Elgon as well as the Crater Highlands in Tanzania and Ol Doinyo Lengai volcanoremains active, Currently the only natrocarbonatite volcano in the world

Hence Rift Valley has been a rich source of anthropological discovery, especially in Olduvai Gorge.The rapidly eroding highlands have filled the valley with sediments, a favorable environment for the preservation of remains has been created. The bones of several hominid ancestors of modern humans have been found in this particular Region.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Arusha city 'Geneva of Africa'

-
Image
Arusha is the city in Northern Tanzania.Nestled at the base of Mount Meru,is the third largest city in Tanzania known as ‘Geneva of Africa’ and the safaris gateway to some Africa's most famous landscapes and natural famous attractions such as Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater Lake Manyara, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro and its own Arusha national park,With population of more than 1.2 million, the Arusha city is more than just a stopover on the way to and from safari adventures.One of the fastest growing cities in Tanzania and the best tourist destination in East Africa and a haven for mountain climbers,hikers with Mount Kilimanjaro,Mount meru and ngorongoro crater highlands just waiting to be explored. With comfortable hotels, a wide array of international restaurants and a few sites of its own, the city is a welcome oasis of tranquility and affordable accommodations with charming friendly people. Arusha is the popular stating point for tourist
Read more

Festivals Zanzibar (tradition and culture)

-
Image
Islands of Zanzibar and Pemba have a wealth of tradition and culture much of which is recognised by numerous annual festivals and celebrations. EID EL FITR This is the three days festival that follows the end of Ramadan when eating drinking and smoking is prohibited during daylight hours. Because the date is dependent on the Islamic calendar , the dates of both Ramadan and therefore Eid vary by as much as 11 days each year. FESTIVAL OF THE DHOW COUNTRIES Established in 1997 the Festival of the Dhow Countries is the highlight of Zanzibar’s artisti and cultural calendar . A two week event held every July , the festival features craftwork , dance , music , painting , photography , sculpture , theatre , and film from the dhow countries of East , North East and Southern Africa , the Gulf States , India , Iran , Pakistan , and the islands of the Indian Ocean . The main venue for the festival is the open air theatre at the Old Fort but events also take place at the Palace Museum , Hous
Read more

Tindiga and Datoga of East Africa

-
Image
The Hadzabe live around Lake Eyasi to the south of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. They are the last remaining ancestors of the original hunter-gatherer tribes who first inhabited Tanzania.They are skilled hunters, and use a number of methods to attract game within range of their arrows, including the use of the horns of an antelope, attaching them to their heads while mimicking the animal’s characteristic bobbing walk, which draws other curious animals closer. Another method is to hide under an animal skin, and wait for vultures to land, when they can easily be caught. The Hadzabe supplement their diet with roots,plants, and honey. The Hadzabe are not a Bantu race like the other peoples of Tanzania, but have more in common with the San Bushmen found in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa, nearly 2000 miles away. They tend to be small in stature, physically slight, and have lighter coloured skin than most Africans. Their language too contains ma
Read more