If you can wait ten million years for your investment to pay off, here’s a tip. A new ocean is forming quite rapidly, and soon, by geological standards, what’s left of the Horn of Africa will be an island.
That’s the upshot of an article in the international edition of Der Spiegel, which begins thus:
“Geologist Dereje Ayalew and his colleagues from Addis Ababa University were amazed — and frightened. They had only just stepped out of their helicopter onto the desert plains of central Ethiopia when the ground began to shake under their feet. The pilot shouted for the scientists to get back to the helicopter. And then it happened: the Earth split open. Crevices began racing toward the researchers like a zipper opening up. After a few seconds, the ground stopped moving, and after they had recovered from their shock, Ayalew and his colleagues realized they had just witnessed history. For the first time ever, human beings were able to witness the first stages in the birth of an ocean.”
I’ve never wanted to experience an earthquake — until now.
The article has a great photo gallery, too. Maybe I’ll include this topic and some of the images in a children’s book someday!