White Nile rift
Encyclopedia
The White Nile rift is one of several rift
s in central Sudan
running in a NW direction and terminating in the Central African Shear Zone
.
The rift is a Cretaceous
/Tertiary
structure that has similar tectonic characteristics to the Southern Sudan Rift, Blue Nile rift
and Atbara rift.
These rifts follow similar trends, and terminate in a line at their northwestern ends.
Probably this line is an extension of the Central African Shear Zone through the Sudan.
The rift basin is formed by the junction of the Umm Rubaba graben
s, which extends in a NW direction, and the White Nile graben, which extends in a N to NW direction.
The basin is filled with sediments and igenous rocks, and is a target for oil and gas exploration.
The rift basins appear to be hydrologically closed, with no lateral transfer of water.
One theory is that the current White Nile
may have developed no more than 12,500 years ago when the basins filled and the rivers became connected.
Rift
In geology, a rift or chasm is a place where the Earth's crust and lithosphere are being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics....
s in central 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...
running in a NW direction and terminating in the Central African Shear Zone
Central African Shear Zone
The Central African Shear Zone is a wrench fault system extending in an ENE direction from the Gulf of Guinea through Cameroon into Sudan.The structure is not well understood....
.
The rift is a Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
/Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
structure that has similar tectonic characteristics to the Southern Sudan Rift, Blue Nile rift
Blue Nile rift
The Blue Nile rift is a major geological formation in the Sudan, a rift with a NW trend that terminates on the Central African Shear Zone.It was formed through crustal extension during the break-up of Gondwana....
and Atbara rift.
These rifts follow similar trends, and terminate in a line at their northwestern ends.
Probably this line is an extension of the Central African Shear Zone through the Sudan.
The rift basin is formed by the junction of the Umm Rubaba 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....
s, which extends in a NW direction, and the White Nile graben, which extends in a N to NW direction.
The basin is filled with sediments and igenous rocks, and is a target for oil and gas exploration.
The rift basins appear to be hydrologically closed, with no lateral transfer of water.
One theory is that the current White Nile
White Nile
The White Nile is a river of Africa, one of the two main tributaries of the Nile from Egypt, the other being the Blue Nile. In the strict meaning, "White Nile" refers to the river formed at Lake No at the confluence of the Bahr al Jabal and Bahr el Ghazal rivers...
may have developed no more than 12,500 years ago when the basins filled and the rivers became connected.