The pulling apart of the lithosphere along a linear zone, the defining example of extensional tectonics. Rifting drops a central depression, a graben or more commonly a half-graben framed by normal faulting and rift-flank uplifts; rifts standing above sea level form rift valleys, the axis of most mid-ocean ridges is a rift where new oceanic crust and lithosphere form, and a continental rift that stops short of break-up survives as a failed rift, an aulacogen. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
TimescaleTens of millions of years from initial stretching to continental breakup and the onset of seafloor spreading, though the transition can happen much faster or slower depending on the rift. 1 Driving ForceRifting can be active, driven by mantle convection, or passive, driven by far-field tectonic forces that stretch the lithosphere. 1 Resulting FeatureWhere a rift stays above sea level it forms a rift valley, sometimes filled with water to become a rift lake. 1 SignificanceRifting can lead to full continental breakup and the formation of new ocean basins, with successful rifting producing seafloor spreading along a mid-ocean ridge. 1 Driving Force
Driving Force (category) Timescale
Timescale (category) Connections
Associated With
Rift depressions are framed by normal faulting.
Source Rift (Wikipedia)
Major rifts run along the central axis of most mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust forms.
Source Rift (Wikipedia)
Active volcanism is a part of many, but not all, active rift systems.
Source Rift (Wikipedia)
Causes
Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Rifting via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.
Source Wikidata: Albertine Rift
Source Avalonia (Wikipedia)
Source Baikal Rift Zone (Wikipedia)
Source Beit She'an Valley (Wikipedia)
Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Rifting via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.
Source Wikidata: East African Rift
Source Gulf of Corinth basin (Wikipedia)
Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Rifting via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.
Source Wikidata: Gulf of Suez Rift
Source Jordan Valley (Wikipedia)
Source Northern North Sea basin (Wikipedia)
Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Rifting via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.
Source Wikidata: Gregory Rift
Source Rio Grande rift (Wikipedia)
Source Upper Rhine Plain (Wikipedia)
In Discipline
Sources
1. Rift (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics.
Rifting to break-up (drivers)
Rifting may be active, and controlled by mantle convection. It may also be passive, and driven by far-field tectonic forces that stretch the lithosphere.
Introduction (rift valley)
Where rifts remain above sea level they form a rift valley, which may be filled by water forming a rift lake.
Rifting to break-up (outcome)
Rifting may lead to continental breakup and formation of oceanic basins. Successful rifting leads to seafloor spreading along a mid-oceanic ridge.
View the Source Baikal Rift Zone (Wikipedia)
Causes: Baikal Rift Zone, Lead paragraphQuote, Causes: Baikal Rift Zone, Lead paragraph
The Baikal Rift Zone is a series of continental rifts centered beneath Lake Baikal in southeastern Russia
Jordan Valley (Wikipedia)
Causes: Jordan Valley, Lead paragraphQuote, Causes: Jordan Valley, Lead paragraph
The Jordan Valley (Arabic: غَوْر الأُرْدُنّ, romanized: Ghawr al-Urdunn; Hebrew: עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, romanized: Emek HaYarden) forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley
Upper Rhine Plain (Wikipedia)
Causes: Upper Rhine Plain, Lead paragraphQuote, Causes: Upper Rhine Plain, Lead paragraph
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: Oberrheinische Tiefebene, Oberrheinisches Tiefland or Oberrheingraben, French: Vallée du Rhin) is a major rift, about 350-kilometre-long (220 mi) and on average 50-kilometre-wide (31 mi), between Basel in the south and the citie
Avalonia (Wikipedia)
Causes: Avalonia, Lead paragraphQuote, Causes: Avalonia, Lead paragraph
It eventually rifted off, becoming a drifting microcontinent
Rio Grande rift (Wikipedia)
Causes: Rio Grande Rift, Lead section (caused-by Rifting)Quote, Causes: Rio Grande Rift, Lead section (caused-by Rifting)
The Rio Grande rift is a north-trending continental rift zone.
Beit She'an Valley (Wikipedia)
Causes: Beit She'an Valley, Lead section (caused-by Rifting)Quote, Causes: Beit She'an Valley, Lead section (caused-by Rifting)
The valley lies within the Beit She'an rift, part of the Afro-Syrian Rift (Jordan Rift Valley), which opens westwards to the Harod Valley.
Gulf of Corinth basin (Wikipedia)
Causes: Gulf of Corinth basin, Lead sectionQuote, Causes: Gulf of Corinth basin, Lead section
The Gulf of Corinth basin, or Corinth rift, is an active extensional marine sedimentary basin thought to have started deforming during the late Miocene - Pleistocene epoch.
Northern North Sea basin (Wikipedia)
Causes: Northern North Sea basin, LeadQuote, Causes: Northern North Sea basin, Lead
The northern North Sea Paleorift system, including the Viking and Sogn graben, is an approximately 150-200 km wide zone of extended upper crust with preserved strata from pre-Triassic to Tertiary.
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