Huffington Post - 9/18/13, Becky Oskin
Erta Ale, active volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, at dawn. | Getty
The Afar Rift in Ethiopia is marked by enormous gashes that signal the breakup of the African continent and the beginnings of a new ocean basin, scientists think.
The fractures appear eerily similar to seafloor spreading centers, the volcanic ridges that mark the boundaries between two pieces of oceanic crust. Along the ridges, lava bubbles up and new crust is created, slowly widening the ocean basin.
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