Magma Blob Beneath Afar Rift In Ethiopia Puzzles Scientists [1]

 

Huffington Post - 9/18/13, Becky Oskin

 

Erta Ale, active volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, at dawn. | Getty

 

The Afar Rift in Ethiopia is marked by enormous gashes that signal the breakup of the African continent and the beginnings of a new ocean basin, scientists think.

The fractures appear eerily similar to seafloor spreading centers, the volcanic ridges [2] that mark the boundaries between two pieces of oceanic crust. Along the ridges, lava bubbles up and new crust is created, slowly widening the ocean basin.

More: HuffingtonPost.com [3]