African desert rift confirmed as new ocean in the making

[Willburnroach Profile]

In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart, but the claim was controversial.

Now, scientists from several countries have confirmed that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world's oceans, and the rift is indeed likely the beginning of a new sea.

Thought this was cool and here is the link

http://www.physorg.com/news176395329.html

from another website

The rift began when Mount Dabbahu erupted, for the first time in recorded history, and in a matter of just three weeks spread to up to 25' wide along a fault line in the Afar desert. Heading towards the Red Sea, it could eventually split off Eritrea, Djibouti and part of Ethiopia from the rest of the continent.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/rift-ethiopian-desert-confirmed-beginning-new-sea.php