The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake at a depth of 9 km, beneath the Gulf of Tadjoura on the coast of Djibouti, slightly before 9.50 am local time (slightly before 6.50 am GMT) on Saturday 30 May 2015. There are no reports of any damage or injuries arising from this quake, but it was felt in much of northeastern Djibouti.
The approximate position of the 30 May 2015 Gulf of Tadjoura Earthquake. Google Maps.
Djibouti is located on the western shore of the Red Sea, which while referred to as a sea, is technically an immature ocean, underlain by the Red Sea Rift, a spreading boundary between two tectonic plates, the African Plate and the Arabian, where new oceanic crust is being formed. Arabia was formerly part of the African Plate, but split away about 30 million years ago. The Great Rift Valley of Africa is a continuation of this rift, that is slowly splitting Africa in two from the north to the south. This rifting exerts pressure on the rocks around the margin of the sea, slowly pushing them apart, not smoothly but in fits and starts as the pressure overcomes the tendency of the rocks to stick together.
See also...
The Zubair Archipelago are a group of volcanic islands off the southwest coast of Yemen; they are essentially a shield volcano on the Red Sea Rift with a number of...
The Afar Depression lies at at northernmost end of Africa's Great Rift Valley, where it meets the sea at the junction between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. All three of these features are areas of rifting, with Africa slowly being split into two new continental plates...
The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of 9.8 km, on the Eritrean coast 19 km to the north of the port...
Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.
