The Rift Valley in East Africa is a rich source of hominid fossils that allow for the study of human evolution. The rapidly eroding highlands quickly filled the valley with sediment, creating a favorable environment for preservation of the remains.
Why is the Rift Valley important?
The Rift Valley system that characterizes the African continent provides a perfect environment to understand human evolution for the important paleoanthropological discoveries in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire, the African Rift Valleys are in fact considered the cradle say to mankind.
What makes the East African Rift Valley unique?
The East African Rift System (EARS) is one of the geological wonders of the world, a place where Earth’s tectonic forces are currently attempting to create new plates by pulling old ones apart. … The point where these three plates meet in the Afar region of Ethiopia forms what is known as a triple junction.
Why is the East African Rift Valley important to anthropologists?
Most anthropologists believe that the Rift Valley in East Africa played a central role in human evolution. Stretching across nine nations from Mozambique to Ethiopia, it has been the site of many important fossil and artifact discoveries. … The Rift Valley is an ideal repository of ancient remains
Where is the Great Rift Valley and why is it important?
The Great Rift Valley is a geographical and geological feature that stretches north-south approximately 4,000 miles (6,400 km) from northern Syria to central Mozambique in East Africa. Astronauts say it is the planet’s most significant physical detail visible from space.
What Makes the East African Rift Unique?
The East African Rift is unique in that it allows us to observe different stages of the rift along its length. To the south, where the rift is young, rates of extension are low and faulting occurs over a large area. Volcanism and seismicity are limited
What makes the Great Rift Valley unique in Africa?
Probably the best-known rift valley on earth is the so-called Great Rift Valley system, which stretches from the Middle East in the north to Mozambique in the south. The area is geologically active and features volcanoes, hot springs, geysers and frequent earthquakes.
Why are the Rift Valleys important?
Rift valleys are huge fractures affecting continental plates that gradually widen over time: they represent the first stages of the complex process of continent expansion and fracture, and anticipate the development of new ocean basins between them.
How did the East African Rift Valley form?
The East African Rift Valley, as the region is called, formed where the Somali and Nubian Plates diverge from the Arabian Plate. The eastern branch of the rift runs through Ethiopia and Kenya, and the western branch forms a vast arc from Uganda to Malaw
Why is the East African Rift Valley so important for studying human evolution?
The Rift Valley in East Africa is a rich source of hominid fossils that allow for the study of human evolution. The rapidly eroding highlands quickly filled the valley with sediment, creating a favorable environment for preservation of the remains.
Why is the Rift Valley important for Africa?
The Rift Valley system that characterizes the African continent provides a perfect environment to understand human evolution for the important paleoanthropological discoveries in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire, the African Rift Valleys are in fact considered the cradle tell mankind…
What important anthropological discovery was made in the Great Rift Valley?
Summary: New fossils from the outskirts of Nairobi show that Australopithecus afarensis lived far to the east beyond the Great Rift Valley, showing how adaptable early hominid species were to new environments.
Why is the Great Rift Valley an important physical feature?
The Rift Valley was a rich source of fossils enabling the study of human evolution, particularly in an area known as Piedmont. As the rapidly eroding highlands have filled the valley with sediment, an environment conducive to the preservation of the remains has been created.