Red Sea Rift

Red Sea Rift

The Red Sea Rift is a spreading center between two tectonic plates, the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It extends down the length of the Red Sea, stretching from the southern end of the Dead Sea Transform to a triple junction with the Aden Ridge and the East African Rift (the Afar Triple Junction) in the Afar Depression of eastern Africa.

The rift zone includes the island of Jabal al-Tair, formed by the basaltic stratovolcano of the same name, located northwest of the Bab al-Mandab passage at the mouth of the Red Sea, about half way between Yemen and Eritrea. The volcano erupted on 30 September 2007, after 124 years of dormancy.

References


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