Abstract
Southern Afar is modeled by the Main Ethiopian Rift, trending in a NNE-SSW direction. This axis, although less active than the Red-Sea and Aden oceanic rift system crossing through NE Afar, determined the geography and the geology of the area. The Awash valley flows along this axis and the river curves in its northern extermity through the Kalo and Gobaad plains ending at Lake Abhe at the Djibouti border. Thick basins resulted from fluviatile and lacustrine sedimentation during the last 4My. This is where the earliest human setlements are found. A set of volcanic centres is aligned along this axis, displaying hydrothermal activity (fumaroles and hot-springs).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aronson LJ, Taieb M (1981) Geology and paleogeography of the Hadar Hominid Site, Ethiopia. In: Rapp G, Vondra C (eds) Hominid Sites and their geological settings. AAAS Selected Symposium vol 63, pp 165–195
Barberi F, Borsi S, Ferrara G, Marinelli G, Santcroce R, Tazief H, Varet J (1972) Evolution of the Danakil Depression (Afar Ethiopia) in light of radiometric age determination. J Geol 80:720–729
Barberi F, Santacroce R, Varet J (1982) Chemical aspects of rift magmatism. In: Palmason G (ed). Continental and Oceanic Rifts Geodynamics Ser vol 8, pp 223–258
Beyene A, Abdelsalam M (2005) Tectonics of the Afar Depression: a review and synthesis. J African Earth Sci 41:41–59
Black R, Morton WH, Varet J (1972) New data on Afar tectonics. Nature Phys Sci 240:170–173
Bonatti E, Tazieff H (1970) Submarine volcanoes in the Afar rift. Amer Geoph Un Gen Meeting, AGU transactions
Feibel CS (2004) Sedimentary pattern in the Pliocene Hadar formation, Afar Rift, Ethiopia. Denver Annual Meeting, November 2004
Ferrara G, Santacroce R (1980) Dama’Ale: a tholeiitic volcano in southern Afar (Ethiopia). Atti Convegni Lincei 47:437–453
Gasse F (1977) Evolution of Lake Abhe (Ethiopia and TFAI), from 70,000 b.p. Nature 265:42–45
Gasse F, Richard O, Robbe D, Rognon P, Williams MAJ (1980) Evolution tectonique et climatique de l’Afar Central d’après les sédiments plio-pléistocènes. Bull Soc Géol Fr 22:987–1001 (in French with English summary)
Gibson IL (1970) A review of the geology, petrology and geochemistry of the volcano Fantale. Bull Volcanol 38(2):791–802
Hall Walter RC, Westgate JA, Yord D (1984) Geochronology, stratigraphy and geoghemistry of Cindery Tuff in Pliocene hominid-bearing sediments of the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. Nature 308:26–31
Hofstetter R, Beyth M (2003) The Afar Depression: interpretation of the 1960–2000 earthquakes. Geophys J Int 155:715–732
Keir D et al (2011) Mapping the evolving strain field during continental breakup from crustal anisotropy in the Afar Depression. Nat Comm 2:285
Manighetti I, Tapponnier P, Courtillot V, Gruszow S, Gillot P-Y (1997) Propagation of rifting along the Arabia-Somalia plate boundary: the gulfs of Aden and Tadjoura. J Geophys Res 102:2681–2710
Manighetti I, Tapponnier P, Gillot P-Y, Jacques E, Courtillot V, Armijo R, Ruegg J-C, King G (1998) Propagation of rifting along the Arabia-Somalia plate boundary: into Afar. J Geophys Res 103:4947–4974
Manighetti I, Tapponnier P, Courtillot V, Gallet Y, Jacques E, Gillot Y (2001) Strain transfer between disconnected, propagating rifts in Afar. J Geophys Res 106:13,613–13,665
Muluneh AA, Kidane T, Rowland J, Bach-Tads V (2013) Counterclockwise block rotation linked to southward propagation and overlap of sub-aerial Red Sea Rift segments, Afar Depression: Insight from paleomagnetism. Tectonophysics
Taieb M, Johanson DC, Coppens Y, Aronson JL (1976) Geological and paleontological background of Hadar hominid site, Afar, Ethiopia. Nature 260:289–293
Varet J (1969) New discovery of fumarolitic garnets (Fant’Ale, Ethiopa). Contrib Mineral Petrol t 22:185–189
Varet J (1975) Carte géologique de l’Afar central et méridional, CNR-CNRS, 1/500 000 Géotechnip
Varet J (1978) Geology of central and southern Afar (Ethiopia and Djibouti Republic), map and 124 pp. report, Centre Natl. de la Rec Sci, Paris
Varet J (2013) The Afar system and carbonates. Cocarde workshop (abstract), Sicily, pp 48–49
Walter RC, Aronson JL (1993) Age and sources of the Sidi Hakoma Tuff, Hadar Formation, Ethiopia. J Hum Evol 25:229–240
Walter RC, Hart WK, Wesgate JA (1987) Petrogenesis of a basalt-rhyolite tephra from West-Central Afar. Ethiopia Contr Mineral Petrol 96:462–480
Wolfenden E, Yirgu G, Ebinger C, Ayalew D, Deino A (2004) Evolution of the northern Main Ethiopian rift: birth of a triple junction. Earth planet Sci Lett 224:213–228
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Varet, J. (2018). Southern Afar: The Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) Northern Extremity. In: Geology of Afar (East Africa). Regional Geology Reviews. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60865-5_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60865-5_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60863-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60865-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)