About 30 million years ago, the African continent began to break. The repressed forces of hot magma from the core of the planet, pushed closer to the earth's crust, created a large fracture that will eventually divide Africa into two smaller tectonic plates. This fracture, known as the East African Rift System, or the Great Rift Valley, now extends from Jordan, in southwest Asia, across East Africa, to Mozambique. Lake Urema, here in Gorongosa National Park, is considered the southernmost tip of this magnificent geological formation.
Gneiss. It is a high grade metamorphic rock, having been subjected to higher temperatures and pressures than schist. It is formed by the metamorphosis of granite, or sedimentary rock.
