The African plate is slowly tearing itself apart, reshaping the continent from within.

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The African plate is not a single, solid block. Beneath the surface, it is actively rifting, creating a divide that separates the continent into two distinct pieces. This geological drama, driven by forces deep within the Earth, has been unfolding for millions of years, slowly shifting the map of Africa.

The African plate, sometimes called the Nubian plate to distinguish it from the continent itself, is a massive tectonic entity. It encompasses most of Africa, excluding the easternmost regions, and extends into parts of Western Asia. Its boundaries are complex, defined by divergent spreading zones like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to the west and the Southwest Indian Ridge to the south, alongside convergent boundaries where it pushes against the Eurasian plate to the north.

The most striking feature of this plate is the East African Rift, where the Somali plate is currently pulling away from the African plate. This process began between 60 million and 10 million years ago. Scientists debate the cause of this rifting: one theory suggests a mantle plume beneath the Afar region is physically pushing the crust apart, while another points to internal crustal dynamics, suggesting the plate is breaking along a line of weakness as surrounding plates shift rapidly northward.

The plate's internal structure is a mosaic of ancient, stable cratons—such as the Kalahari, Congo, Tanzania, and West African cratons—that were assembled during the formation of the supercontinent Pangea roughly 250 million years ago. These deep-rooted blocks are connected by deformed orogenic belts and covered in places by sedimentary basins. Moving at a steady pace of about 2.15 centimeters per year, the plate has drifted northeast for the last 100 million years, a journey that continues to drive the collision with Eurasia and the ongoing transformation of the Mediterranean landscape.

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