Ethiopian Rift Valley

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The Ethiopian Rift Valley is part of the Afro- Arabian Rift system, bounded by the Arabian plate to the north, African plate to the west, and East African plate to the east. It is a system of down faulted troughs starting from the Jordan- Dead Sea Rift, the Red sea, and the Gulf of Aden, and continues southwards through East Africa Rift up to Mozambique. This feature of the earth's crust extends approximately 6500 km in a generally north-south direction.

The Rift Valley is a geological relic of the critical weakening in the earth's crust along two roughly parallel faults which opened some 2 million years ago the world's largest geological divide.

The Ethiopian Rift Valley offers eight spectacular chains of lakes. These lakes formed during the period of high rainfall in the quaternary era when much of the world near the poles was covered in ice. During this time the northern four lakes Ziway, Langano, Abyjata and Shalla were one and the southern two Abaya and Chamo were one. As the earth's climate warmed in comparatively recent geological times the rift valley lakes receded leaving extensive deposits of sedimentary rocks. The Ethiopian Rift Valley offers eight spectacular chain of lakes. These lakes formed during the period of high rainfall in the quaternary era when much of the world near the poles was covered in ice.

During this time the northern four lakes; Ziway, Langano, Abyjata and Shalla were one and the southern two Abaya and Chamo were one. As the earth's climate warmed in comparatively recent geological times the rift valley lakes receded leaving extensive deposits of sedimentary rocks.