Abstract
The relative motion between the plates on each side of the East African Rift Valley can be obtained from the opening of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The calculated direction of relative motion agrees well with fault plane solutions for earthquakes north of the equator.
Your institute does not have access to this article
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
New magnetic anomaly map for the Red Sea reveals transtensional structures associated with rotational rifting
Scientific Reports Open Access 06 April 2022
-
A heterogeneous subcontinental mantle under the African–Arabian Plate boundary revealed by boron and radiogenic isotopes
Scientific Reports Open Access 27 May 2021
-
3D Extension at Plate Boundaries Accommodated by Interacting Fault Systems
Scientific Reports Open Access 26 May 2020
Access options
Subscribe to Journal
Get full journal access for 1 year
$199.00
only $3.90 per issue
All prices are NET prices.
VAT will be added later in the checkout.
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.
Buy article
Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.
$32.00
All prices are NET prices.
References
Gregory, J. W., The Rift Valleys and Geology of East Africa (London, 1921).
Willis, B., Bull Geol. Soc. Amer., 49, 659 (1938).
Sykes, L. R., The History of the Earth's Crust (edit. by Phinney, R. A.).(Princeton, 1968).
Sykes, L. R., and Landisman, M., Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., 54, 1927 (1964).
McKenzie, D. P., and Parker, R. L., Nature, 216, 1276 (1967).
Morgan, W. J., J. Geophys. Res., 73, 1959 (1968).
Laughton, A. S., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., A, 259 150 (1966).
Le Pichon, X., J. Geophys. Res., 73, 3661 (1968).
Wegener, A., The Origin of Continents and Oceans (transl. of fourth ed., 1929), (Methuen 1966).
Girdler, R. W., Quart. J. Geol. Soc. 114, 79 (1958).
Frazier, S. B., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (in the press).
Tramontini, C., and Davies, D., Geophys. J., 17, 225 (1969).
Bullard, E. C., Everett, J. E., and Smith, A. G., Phil. Trans. Roy Soc., A258 41 (1965).
Girdler, R. W., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (in the press).
Vine, F. J., Science, 154, 1405 (1966).
Quennell, A. M., Quart. J. Geol. Soc., 114, 1 (1958).
Freund, R., Geol. Mag., 102, 189 (1965).
Freund, R., Zak, I., and Garfunkel, Z., Nature, 220, 253 (1968).
Heybroek, F., in Salt Basins Around Africa, 17 (Inst. Petrol., London, 1965).
Girdler, R. W., Fairhead, J. D., Searle, R. C., and Sowerbutts, W. T. C., Nature, 224, 1178 (1969).
Baker, B., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (in the press).
Gouin, P., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (in the press).
Banghar, A. R., and Sykes, L. R., J. Geophys. Res., 74, 632 (1969).
Laughton, A. S., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (in the press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MCKENZIE, D., DAVIES, D. & MOLNAR, P. Plate Tectonics of the Red Sea and East Africa. Nature 226, 243–248 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/226243a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/226243a0
Further reading
-
New magnetic anomaly map for the Red Sea reveals transtensional structures associated with rotational rifting
Scientific Reports (2022)
-
A heterogeneous subcontinental mantle under the African–Arabian Plate boundary revealed by boron and radiogenic isotopes
Scientific Reports (2021)
-
Natural and Anthropogenic Coastal Environmental Hazards: An Integrated Remote Sensing, GIS, and Geophysical-based Approach
Surveys in Geophysics (2021)
-
3D Extension at Plate Boundaries Accommodated by Interacting Fault Systems
Scientific Reports (2020)
-
Geological assessment of the Neom mega-project area, northwestern Saudi Arabia: an integrated approach
Arabian Journal of Geosciences (2020)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
