Afar Triple Junction

The Afar Triple Junction is a junction of three tectonic rifts (or ridges) centered in the Afar Depression, informally known as the Afar Triangle, of northeastern Africa. Here, the Red Sea Rift meets the Aden Ridge and the East African Rift. It also represents the junction of the Arabian Plate and the two protoplates which are beginning to form as the African Plate splits apart along the East African Rift. These protoplates, or subplates, are referred to as the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate, with the Somali Plate to the southeast and the Nubian Plate to the northwest. The Red Sea Rift runs northwest to southeast along the Red Sea and separates the Nubian (northwestern part of African plate) and the Arabian plates. The Aden Ridge runs east to west separating the Somali Plate (southeastern part of African plate) and Arabian Plate.