One said "Geologists have said that the fault line is as a result of the Somali tectonic plate pulling away from the African one as a result of activity in the earth's crust."
Really ??
Another is very firmly of the opinion that the crack was in fact formed by erosion of soil beneath the surface due to recent heavy rains in Kenya. A look at satellite optical imagery indicates that similar erosional features can be seen elsewhere in the region suggesting that these flash flood events have caused erosion before. This agrees with what local geologists have said and previous studies have concluded – rainwater has washed away deep layers of loose volcanic ash deposited by previous volcanic eruptions in the rift valley.
Two new pictures from Reuters:
Where has the soil from the hollows been washed to in the first photo ? Or were the hollows along the crack there for years, just waiting for the top layer to collapse ? It could have been scary if a tractor had been ploughing and suddenly disappeared into one of the holes ! In Europe and the US there have been many cases over the years of sink holes suddenly opening up in roads, under peoples gardens, and with cars falling into them.
(Later) I just remembered these photos taken about 1972 ...
I wonder if the erosion gully (photo above) started out small as in the Reuters photos ....
... and might even end up like the above .... Chebloch Gorge in the Kerio Valley ?? I'd love to go back to the Kerio to see how the geography has changed ....
No comments:
Post a Comment