Africa
East Africa

Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley is mainly in . This is not one simple valley, but a group of related geological structures in East Africa with extensions that reach as far as Syria and Yemen. The Red Sea is geologically a continuation of this system.
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Photo: Wikimedia, Public domain.
Photo: Antony Trivet, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • Type: graben
  • Description: continuous geographic trench
  • Also known as: “East African Rift System”, “Gregory Rift”, and “Rift Valley”
Photo: McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0.
Photo: Ndunguwanjoroge, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Sachi Gahan, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Great Rift Valley

Wiki­data ID
Q81591
This page is based on Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
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In Other Languages

From Afrikaans to Yue Chinese—“Great Rift Valley” goes by many names.
  • Afrikaans: “Groot Skeurvallei”
  • Arabic: “الأخدود الأفريقي العظيم”
  • Arabic: “الإنكسار الأفريقي العظيم”
  • Arabic: “الانكسار الأفريقي العظيم”
  • Arabic: “الشق السوري الأفريقي”
  • Arabic: “الشق السوري الافريقي”
  • Arabic: “الصدع الإفريقي”
  • Arabic: “الوادي المتصدع الكبير”
  • Arabic: “صدع إفريقي”
  • Arabic: “وادي الأُخدود العظيم”
  • Arabic: “وادي الصدع العظيم”
  • Arabic: “وادي متصدع كبير”
  • Aragonese: “Bal d’o Gran Rift”
  • Aragonese: “Gran Bal d’o Rift”
  • Aragonese: “Gran Val d’o Rift”
  • Aragonese: “Val d’o Gran Rift”
  • Armenian: “Արևելա-աֆրիկյան ռիֆտային հովիտ”
  • Armenian: “Մեծ ռիֆտային հովիտ”
  • Asturian: “Gran valle del rift”
  • Asturian: “Gran Valle del Rift”
  • Asturian: “Grand Rift”
  • Asturian: “Valle del Rift”
  • Azerbaijani: “Böyük Rift Dərəsi”
  • Bashkir: “Көнсығыш Африка рифт үҙәне”
  • Basque: “Rift Haran Handia”
  • Basque: “Rift Harana”
  • Belarusian: “Вялікая рыфтавая даліна”
  • Belarusian: “Усходне-Афрыканская рыфтавая даліна”
  • Bengali: “গ্রেট রিফট ভ্যালি”
  • Bengali: “গ্রেট রীফট্‌ ভ্যালি”
  • Bengali: “মহা গ্রস্ত উপত্যকা”
  • Bosnian: “Velika rasjedna dolina”
  • Bulgarian: “Велик африкански разлом”
  • Bulgarian: “Велика рифтова долина”
  • Bulgarian: “Голям африкански разлом”
  • Bulgarian: “Голяма рифтова долина”
  • Bulgarian: “Източноафриканска разломна зона”
  • Bulgarian: “Източноафриканска разломна област”
  • Bulgarian: “Източноафриканска рифтова долина”
  • Bulgarian: “Източноафриканска рифтова зона”
  • Bulgarian: “Източноафриканска рифтова система”
  • Bulgarian: “Източноафриканската рифтова долина”
  • Bulgarian: “Източноафрикански разлом”
  • Catalan: “Gran Rift”
  • Catalan: “Gran Vall del Rift”
  • Catalan: “Rift Valley”
  • Catalan: “Vall del Gran Rift”
  • Catalan: “Vall del Rift”
  • Cebuano: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Chinese: “Tōa-khiah-kok”
  • Chinese: “东非地堑”
  • Chinese: “东非大地堑”
  • Chinese: “东非大裂谷”
  • Chinese: “大裂谷”
  • Chinese: “東非大峽谷”
  • Chinese: “東非大裂谷”
  • Chinese: “東非裂谷”
  • Chinese: “東非裂谷系”
  • Chinese: “肯亞大裂谷”
  • Chinese: “艾伯丁裂谷”
  • Croatian: “Dolina velike rasjeline”
  • Croatian: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Croatian: “Velika rasjedna dolina”
  • Czech: “Velká příkopová propadlina”
  • Czech: “Velké riftové údolí”
  • Czech: “Východoafrický příkop”
  • Danish: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Danish: “Rift Valley”
  • Danish: “Riftdalen”
  • Dutch: “Aravaslenk”
  • Dutch: “Grote Afrikaanse Slenk”
  • Dutch: “Grote rift vallei”
  • Dutch: “Grote Riftvallei”
  • Dutch: “Grote Slenk”
  • Dutch: “Grote slenkvallei”
  • Dutch: “Oost-Afrikaanse Riftzone”
  • Dutch: “Oost-Afrikaanse slenk”
  • Dutch: “Riftdal”
  • Esperanto: “Granda Rifto”
  • Esperanto: “Orientafrika grabeno”
  • Esperanto: “Rifta Valo”
  • Esperanto: “Valo Rifto”
  • Estonian: “Ida-Aafrika rift”
  • Estonian: “Ida-Aafrika riftiorg”
  • Estonian: “Ida-Aafrika riftisüsteem”
  • Estonian: “Ida-Aafrika riftivöönd”
  • Finnish: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Finnish: “Iso hautavajoama”
  • Finnish: “Itä-Afrikan halkeama”
  • Finnish: “Itä-Afrikan hautavajoama”
  • French: “Grand rift africain”
  • French: “Grand rift est-africain”
  • French: “Grand rift”
  • French: “Great Rift Valley”
  • French: “Rift africain”
  • French: “Rift est-africain”
  • French: “Rift Valley”
  • French: “Vallee du grand rift”
  • French: “vallée du grand rift”
  • French: “Vallée du Grand Rift”
  • French: “Vallée du rift”
  • Galician: “Gran Val do Rift”
  • Galician: “Val do Rift”
  • Georgian: “აღმოსავლეთ აფრიკის რღვევის ხაზი”
  • Georgian: “დიდი რიფტული ხეობა”
  • German: “East African Rift System”
  • German: “Great Rift Valley”
  • German: “Gregory Rift”
  • German: “Grosser Afrikanischer Grabenbruch”
  • German: “Großer Afrikanischer Grabenbruch”
  • German: “Rift Valley”
  • Greek: “Κοιλάδα του Μεγάλου Ρήγματος”
  • Greek: “Μεγάλη Ρηξιγενής Κοιλάδα”
  • Greek: “Ρήγμα της ανατολικής Αφρικής”
  • Hebrew: “הבקע הסורי אפריקאי”
  • Hebrew: “הבקע הסורי אפריקני”
  • Hebrew: “הבקע הסורי-אפריקאי”
  • Hebrew: “הבקע הסורי-אפריקני”
  • Hebrew: “השבר הסורי אפריקאי”
  • Hebrew: “השבר הסורי אפריקני”
  • Hebrew: “השבר הסורי-אפריקאי”
  • Hebrew: “השבר הסורי-אפריקני”
  • Hebrew: “מערכת ההעתקה הסורית-אפריקנית”
  • Hebrew: “מערכת השבירה הסורית-אפריקנית”
  • Hindi: “ग्रेट रिफ़्ट घाटी”
  • Hindi: “महान दरार घाटी”
  • Hungarian: “Kelet-afrikai árok”
  • Hungarian: “Nagy-hasadékvölgy”
  • Icelandic: “Sigdalurinn mikli”
  • Ido: “Granda Valo di la Fenduro”
  • Ido: “Granda Valo di Rift”
  • Indonesian: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Indonesian: “Lembah Celah Besar”
  • Irish: “Gleann na Claise Móire”
  • Italian: “Grande Rift Valley”
  • Italian: “Great rift valley”
  • Italian: “Rift Valley”
  • Japanese: “アフリカ大地溝帯”
  • Japanese: “グレート・リフト・ヴァレー”
  • Japanese: “グレート・リフト・バレー”
  • Japanese: “リフト渓谷”
  • Japanese: “大地溝帯”
  • Kabiyè: “Hɛŋga Sɔsaɣ Fɛɛʊ”
  • Kannada: “ಆಫ್ರಿಕದ ಬಿರುಕು ಕಣಿವೆ”
  • Kannada: “ಆಫ್ರಿಕಾದ ಬಿರುಕು ಕಣಿವೆ”
  • Kannada: “ಮಹಾ ಬಿರುಕು ಕಣಿವೆ”
  • Kannada: “ಮಹಾನ್ ಬಿರುಕು ಕಣಿವೆ”
  • Kazakh: “Рифт аңғары”
  • Kinyarwanda: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Korean: “그레이트 리프트 밸리”
  • Korean: “대 지구대”
  • Korean: “대지구대”
  • Korean: “동아프리카 대지구대”
  • Korean: “동아프리카 열곡”
  • Korean: “동아프리카 열곡대”
  • Korean: “동아프리카 지구대”
  • Korean: “동아프리카열곡대”
  • Korean: “동아프리카지구대”
  • Korean: “아프리카 대지구대”
  • Korean: “아프리카 지구대”
  • Ladin: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Latin: “Valles Magni Chasmatis”
  • Latvian: “Austrumāfrikas lūzumzona”
  • Latvian: “Lielā Rifta ieleja”
  • Lithuanian: “Didysis lūžis”
  • Lithuanian: “Didysis Lūžių slėnis”
  • Lithuanian: “Didysis riftinis slėnis”
  • Lithuanian: “Didysis Riftų slėnis”
  • Lithuanian: “Didžiojo rifto slėnis”
  • Lithuanian: “Rytų Afrikos lūžių juosta”
  • Macedonian: “Голема Раседна Долина”
  • Malagasy: “Lohasahan’ ny Hantsana Lehibe”
  • Malagasy: “Lohasahan’ny Hantsana Lehibe”
  • Malay: “Lembah Rengkahan Besar”
  • Malayalam: “ഗ്രേറ്റ് റിഫ്റ്റ് വാലി”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Tōa-khiah-kok”
  • Mingrelian: “ბჟაეიოლ აფრიკაშ ხუალაშ ღოზი”
  • Mingrelian: “ბჟაეიოლი აფრიკაშ ხუალაშ ღოზი”
  • Newari: “तधंगु रिफ्ट स्वनिग”
  • Northern Frisian: “Grat Afrikoonsk Gruug”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Den store riftdalen”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Østafrika Graben”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Rift Valley”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Riftdalen”
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: “Den austafrikanske riftdalen”
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: “Riftdalen”
  • Norwegian: “Riftdalen”
  • Occitan (post 1500): “Granda Val del Rift”
  • Persian: “دره بزرگ ریفت”
  • Persian: “دره کافتی بزرگ آفریقا”
  • Polish: “Wielki Rów Afrykański”
  • Polish: “Wielkie Rowy Afrykańskie”
  • Portuguese: “Grande vale do rift”
  • Portuguese: “Grande Vale do Rifte”
  • Portuguese: “Rift valley”
  • Portuguese: “Vale da fenda”
  • Portuguese: “Vale do Rift”
  • Romanian: “Valea Marelui Rift”
  • Romanian: “Valea Rift”
  • Russian: “Великая Рифтовая долина”
  • Russian: “Восточно-Африканская зона разломов”
  • Russian: “Восточно-Африканская рифтовая долина”
  • Russian: “Восточно-Африканская рифтовая зона”
  • Russian: “Восточно-африканская рифтовая система”
  • Russian: “Восточно-Африканский разлом”
  • Russian: “Восточноафриканский рифт”
  • Serbian: “Velika tektonska dolina”
  • Serbian: “Veliki istočnoafrički rov”
  • Serbian: “Велика раседна долина”
  • Serbian: “Велика раселинска долина”
  • Serbian: “Велика расцелинска долина”
  • Serbian: “Велика тектонска долина”
  • Serbo-Croatian: “Dolina velike rasjeline”
  • Serbo-Croatian: “Velika rasjedna dolina”
  • Sinhala: “බටහිර පැළුම් මිටියාවත(රුවන්ඩාව)”
  • Slovak: “Veľká priekopová prepadlina”
  • Slovak: “Východoafrická priekopová prepadlina”
  • Slovak: “Východoafrický rift”
  • Slovenian: “Riftna dolina”
  • Slovenian: “Velika riftna dolina”
  • Spanish: “Falla Albertina”
  • Spanish: “Gran Valle del Rift”
  • Spanish: “Rift valley”
  • Spanish: “Valle del Gran Rift”
  • Spanish: “Valle del Rift”
  • Spanish: “Valle Rift”
  • Swahili: “Bonde Kuu la Ufa”
  • Swahili: “Bonde la Ufa la Afrika ya Mashariki”
  • Swedish: “Great Rift Valley (dal i Etiopien)”
  • Swedish: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Swedish: “Östafrikanska gravsänkesystemet”
  • Swedish: “Östafrikanska riftsystemet”
  • Swedish: “Rift Valley”
  • Swedish: “Riftdalen”
  • Tagalog: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Tagalog: “Lambak ng Great Rift”
  • Tagalog: “Lambak ng Malaking Awang”
  • Tamil: “பெரும் பிளவுப் பள்ளத்தாக்கு”
  • Tatar: “Көнчыгыш Африка рифт үзәне”
  • Thai: “เกรตริฟต์แวลลีย์”
  • Tumbuka: “Chidikha Chisani cha Chisaghala cha Afilika”
  • Turkish: “Büyük Rift Vadisi”
  • Turkish: “Great Rift Vadisi”
  • Turkish: “Rift Vadisi”
  • Ukrainian: “Велика рифтова долина”
  • Ukrainian: “Великий Африканський розлом”
  • Ukrainian: “Східно-Африканська рифтова долина”
  • Urdu: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Urdu: “عظيم وادئ شق”
  • Urdu: “عظیم درز”
  • Urdu: “عظیم وادئ شق”
  • Urdu: “عظیم وادی الشق”
  • Urdu: “عظیم وادی شق”
  • Vietnamese: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Vietnamese: “Hệ thống hồ trong thung lũng Great Rift”
  • Vietnamese: “Lũng hẹp lớn Đông Phi”
  • Vietnamese: “Thung lũng Great Rift”
  • Vietnamese: “Thung lũng tách giãn Lớn”
  • Waray (Philippines): “Great Rift Valley”
  • Welsh: “Dyffryn Hollt Mawr”
  • Welsh: “Dyffryn Rhwyg Mawr”
  • Welsh: “Dyffryn y Rhwyg Mawr”
  • Welsh: “Great Rift Valley”
  • Welsh: “Y Dyffryn Hollt Mawr”
  • Western Armenian: “Մեծ Ռիֆթ հովիտ”
  • Western Frisian: “Grutte Slink”
  • Western Panjabi: “تریڑ”
  • Western Panjabi: “عظیم وادی شق”
  • Wu Chinese: “東非大裂谷”
  • Yue Chinese: “大裂谷”

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About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Great Rift Valley”. Photo: Antony Trivet, CC BY-SA 4.0.