Map of the structural geology of Afar

Figure 1: Geological map of the Afar region showing fault orientation and distribution of the magmatic segments. After Barberi & Varet, 1977; Hayward & Ebinger, 1996; Hofstetter & Beyth, 2003 and Rowland et al, 2007.

Structural Geology of the Afar Region

The movements of the Nubian, Arabian and Somalian plates over the past 30 million years or so have created a series of different tectonic regimes across the Afar region each with their own distinct structural style (e.g. Hayward & Ebinger, 1996; Hofstetter & Beyth, 2003; Beyene & Abdelsalam, 2005). These are:

The Afar Depression

Northern Afar Rift
Dabbahu Magmatic Segment
East-Central Afar Rift
Southern Afar Rift

Ethiopian and Somalian plateaux

Danakil and Ali-Sabieh Blocks

Southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

Main Ethiopian Rift (MER)