Africa is breaking apart at double the rate, a new continent may be formed: scientists have sounded the alarm

In 2005, a 56-meter-long fissure formed in the Ethiopian desert in eastern Africa, which could lead to the breakup of the continent. It is expanding at a rate of almost one and a half centimeters per year.

Previously, researchers believed that the split would take tens of millions of years, but now scientists say it could happen within one to five million years. The split will also create a new ocean and continent on Earth, MailOnline writes.

"It could happen that the waters of the Indian Ocean will come and flood what is now the East African Rift Valley," Ken McDonald, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, comments on the situation and adds that the new ocean could become as deep as the Atlantic if the waters continue to flow into the area.

At the moment, the crack stretches across Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and half of Ethiopia, which the professor said will become a new continent called the "Nubian continent." Although both parts are drifting extremely slowly, McDonald said this is impressive given the vast size of Africa.

Although both parts are drifting extremely slowly, the scientist said this is impressive given the vast size of Africa.

"On the scale of a human lifetime, you won't see much change. You'll feel earthquakes, you'll see volcanic eruptions, but you won't see the ocean invade here in our lifetime," he explains.

The separation occurs through the East African Rift System, which is a 3,200 km long fault formed at least 22 million years ago that contains the continent's Great Lakes. This region also contains two tectonic plates, the Somali and Nubian, which are actively moving away from each other.

Some researchers suggest that all this is a consequence of the amount of heat rising from the Earth's core.

"There is shearing and faulting that causes earthquakes, and there are visible signs of active volcanoes," says MacDonald.

According to Alexandra Doten, a former NASA consultant, East Africa is located on the Somali Platform. The line along the border is the Great African Lakes, which are some of the largest lakes on Earth. They account for 25 percent of all unfrozen surface fresh water on the planet.

"The lakes were formed due to the separation of East Africa from the rest of the continent. This Somali plate continues to move even further east, creating a giant rift valley right here. Eventually, East Africa will become its new continent, separated from the rest of Africa by a new ocean," she explains.

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