Parts of Rift Valley are slowly splitting in what geologists yesterday termed as massive earth movements following deep fissures seen in Narok County.
Along the Mai-Mahiu-Narok highway-at the intersection of Mai-mahiu and Narok, what was once an expansive land for farming; was the first recipient of the split said to be the beginning in the Rift Valley. The tear is deep-upto 50 meters and 20 meters wide.
Geologists say this is just one of the spots out of, probably hundreds of others in the Great Rift Valley, which runs from the Horn of Africa-Somalia all the way to Mozambique.
In about the next 50 million years, Kenya, Somali, Tanzania and half of Ethiopia could split from African to form a new continent referred to as the Somali Plate.
Earth forces are strongest at the base of the valley where geological processes are most active. This explains why Suswa is a great recipient of the earth forces as it lies at the bottom of the valley.
Geologist David Adede told Daily Nation that: “The valley has a history of tectonic and volcanic activities.
“Whereas the rift has remained tectonically inactive in the recent past, there could be movements deep within the Earth’s crust that have resulted in zones of weakness extending all the way to the surface.”
The fault lines and fissures denote weak zones which are filled with volcanic ash from the nearby Mt Longonot.
But with the heavy rains currently pouring, the volcanic ash has been washed away and the cracks are finally exposed.
Adede added that it is impossible to stop earth forces process.
“You cannot stop a geological process because it occurs from deep within the crust of the Earth.”
The area could in the recent future hold camp to geologists who will map out fault lines and understand the geology of the Great Rift Valley.
Given that a railway line will be passing through the region, a geological study must be conducted to assess its safety.
So far, several families have been displaced in Mai-Mahiu following the fissure which ran through their compounds.
Mary Wambui, 72, said they cannot continue living in the land after the cracks and fault lines emerged because it will be tantamount to courting death.