Great Rift Valley

continuous geographic trench

The Great Rift Valley is mainly in Africa.

Great Rift Valley map

This is not one simple valley, but a group of related geological structures in East Africa with extensions that reach as far as Syria and Yemen. The Red Sea is geologically a continuation of this system.

Destinations

Mankind seems to have evolved largely in this valley; see paleontology and man's early migrations. Among the important sites are:

  • Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, with stone tools dating back three million years
  • Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, with fossils and tools over two million years old

There are many lakes along various branches of the valley. Among them:

Part of the valley is in Kenya and Wikivoyage has articles for the Kenyan regions Southern Rift Valley and Northern Rift Valley. Together they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley.

This article is issued from Wikivoyage. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.