The Bahr el Arab rift is a major geological feature in the southwest Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

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The Bahr el Arab rift is made up of the Baggara graben

Graben

In geology, a graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch. Graben is used for both the singular and plural....

, between the Central African Republic

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...

 and the Nuba Mountains

Nuba Mountains

Nuba Mountains is an area located in South Kordofan, Sudan. The area is home to a group of indigenous ethnic groups known collectively as the Nuba peoples. In the 18th century, Nuba Mountains became home to the kingdom of Taqali that controlled the hills of the mountains until their defeat by...

 to the east, and the Sudd graben further south. It terminates to the north on the faulted Mesozoic

Mesozoic

The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...

 deposits south of the Darfur Dome

Darfur Dome

The Darfur Dome or Darfur Volcanic Province is an area about 100x400 km in area in Western Sudan, the result of a volcanic plume which created its best-known and central feature, Deriba Crater. It also produced the surrounding Marra Mountains and Tagabo Hills, formed around 16 and 10 Ma., and...

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The Babanusa

Babanusa

- Transport :It is a railway junction on the national railway network where the line to Waw in South Sudan branches off to the south from the line westwards to Nyala.- External links :*...

 trough has extensive faulting, increasing towards the south, reaching a depth of 5 km at the Unity oil field and 11 km south of the Bentiu

Bentiu

-Location:Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the International border with the Republic of Sudan. This location lies approximately , by road, northwest of Juba, the capital and largest city in the country. Bentiu sits on the southern banks of the Bahr...

oil fields.