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Afar Triangle: Rift Valleys and Volcanoes over Plate Divergence

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Geomorphological Landscapes of the World

Abstract

The barren deserts of the Afar Triangle constitute a basaltic ocean-floor terrain on a divergent plate boundary that is above sea level because it lies over a hot spot. Grabens and rift valleys including the Danakil Depression exhibit active normal faulting. Active dyke emplacement is indicated by heat loss from the Erta Ale lava lake. Both these processes accommodate the crustal extension, and excess magma input creates scattered volcanic eruptions.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    ka stands for 1,000 years

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Waltham, T. (2009). Afar Triangle: Rift Valleys and Volcanoes over Plate Divergence. In: Migon, P. (eds) Geomorphological Landscapes of the World. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3055-9_19

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