The continent won’t split anytime soon. But the thinning is a critical transition

The Turkana Rift Zone (shown) in Kenya and Ethiopia is on a critical transition to continental breakup.

" data-large-file="https://www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/050526_KK_necking_main.jpg?w=800">

The Turkana Rift Zone (shown) in Kenya and Ethiopia is on a critical transition to continental breakup.

Christian Rowan

It’s a bit of a stretch, but the analogy works. Sometimes Earth’s tectonic plates pull apart from one another like taffy.

In eastern Africa, that taffy is already thin and weak, and the tugging forces are concentrated in certain spots. The Turkana Rift Zone is undergoing “necking,” a critical transition toward continental breakup that has never been observed before, researchers reported April 23 in Nature Communications .…