Abstract
The Kenya rift forms part of the East African rift system, a tensional feature sometimes regarded as representing an early stage of continental break-up1,2. High-resolution seismic refraction data are required to provide constraints on models of the deep structure and processes. A 300-km seismic refraction line along the axis of the southern portion of the rift shows variations of up to 4 km in the depth to the basement. A 7.6 km s−1 layer at ∼35 km depth beneath the rift is overlain by a 10-km-thick lens which appears to include anomalous low-velocity material. This lens is interpreted to represent the base of the crust and thickens beneath the Kenya dome. There is no clear evidence for a wide high-velocity intrusive zone in the upper crust within the rift.
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KRISP working group Structure of the Kenya rift from seismic refraction. Nature 325, 239–242 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/325239a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/325239a0
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