Earth Science: Geology, the Environment, and the UniverseChapter 17:
Plate TectonicsProblem of the WeekSplitting At the Seams
Without a subduction zone to absorb or destroy the crust that is being created, there are several possibilities that students may suggest: - possible mountain building on the continent
- eventually a subduction zone might form at the western boundary of the African continent with the oceanic part of the crust subducting beneath the continental crust
- some type of faulting within the continent resulting in additional earthquake and volcanic activity along the rift valley
Resources: - This Dynamic Earth: The story of plate tectonics (1996). USGS: U.S. Government Printing Office. Washington, DC.
- The Great Rift Valley, Jordan to Mozambique
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