Which of the following tectonic processes is primarily responsible for the formation of the East African Rift System, characterized by deep valleys, volcanic activity, and fault-bounded grabens?

💡 Solution & Explanation

The East African Rift System is an active continental rift zone where the African tectonic plate is splitting into two new plates, the Somali and Nubian plates, driven by upwelling mantle plumes that stretch, thin, and fracture the continental crust. Continental collisions create towering fold mountain ranges rather than rift valleys. Subduction zones produce deep oceanic trenches and volcanic arcs, whereas transform boundaries involve horizontal strike-slip motion without crustal extension.