What is the Great Rift Valley?

The Great Rift Valley is the vast geographic depression that runs from the Jordan River Valley in Syria, South-western Asia to Mozambique in eastern Africa. The valley is approximately 6000 km, and its width varies from a few miles to more than one hundred miles. Its elevation varies from 1300 feet below sea level to 6000 feet above sea level. It is supposed to have formed because of the rifting of Earth’s crust along a fault zone, believed to be millions of years old. The valley is of great interest to scientists because the bones of several human ancestors have been found there.