Things you need to know about earthquakes
There are approximately 500,000 earthquakes each year – 100,000 of which are felt on the surface of the earth. But how does an earthquake work? I’ll explain it.
Just a FAQ
Millions of years later, North Africa could be home to the new ocean as it is pulling away along the East African lift system, scientists say.
Experts have long known that parts of the continent separate by 0.3 inches per year in some locations. Volcanic and geological evidence in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa shows that existing oceans could one day ripple into growing cracks, cutting parts of the continent from most of Africa.
“The area covering distant depression and diffusion centres in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden is considered the final transition from lifting the continent to the development of true oceanic diffusion in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea,” the scientists wrote in a 2024 study.
What is happening in North Africa to create a new ocean?
Scientists say that while new oceans will form, the geological significance of the plates that separate them indicates that it is likely. A similar process created the nearby Saudi Peninsula.
Scientists used GPS and satellite mapping to track how the underlying tectonic plates in Africa are separated. Especially in areas known as far away, including northern Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea.
“Geologists believe that if the spread continues, the three plates that meet at the edge of the current African continent will completely separate, causing the Indian Ocean to flood the region, and make the easternmost horn of Africa (the horn of Africa) a large island,” said federal scientists at the US Geological Survey.
Research shows that local plates are partially pulled away by magma rising from deeper into the globe, creating measurable bulges and cracks that are separating the rocks. Research shows that other factors are active.
Estimates show that the possible new ocean timing is between 1 million and 20 million years from now. It is very fast on a geological scale, and many scientists are studying change. This is especially visible because it is on land rather than one of the oceans.
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Remember how plate tectonics works
The Earth on which we stand – the ground, not the planet Earth – lies on a large chunk known as the tectonic plate. The plates are pulled apart, breaking from one another, sliding horizontally across each other, and unleashing volcanoes and earthquakes as signs of motion.
They often find geological features such as Rift Valleys, Volcanos, and geysers in areas where plates are being separated. And you find where they are coming together, like the Himalayas, created around 40-50 million years ago when the lands of India and Eurasia collide. According to the USGS, the conflict still drives action. The Himalayas grow about 0.4 inches a year.
In California, the San Andreas fault lies between the North American plate, which slides south and the Pacific plate, which slides north. At some point, California experts will fear, and California will suffer from the “big one.” This is a catastrophic earthquake that causes widespread destruction in San Francisco, Los Angeles and other regions.
Iceland is located above a rift area similar to North Africa, allowing scuba to jump into the lake formed between the separation areas.
When was the last time you got a new ocean?
Without much fanfare or geological change, we finally got our new ocean in 2021. Scientists from the National Geographic Association have formally recognized the Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica as another body of water. American scientists have seen it as a clear ocean for decades, but it was necessary for society’s perception of 2021 to promote wider acceptance.
That perception gave them the same height as the Atlantic, Pacific, India and the Arctic Ocean.
Experts say that the southern seas formed about 30 million years ago when Antarctica and South American lands were separated, creating narrow, disrupted drake passages with the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans participating.
A version of this story was released in February 2025.