Chapter 1855: Great Rift Valley

Chapter 1855 Great Rift Valley

But Zhao Zhongyao looked at the snow monster in the distance and said,'This guy probably won't run to the shore of the lake! I feel, it can only survive in the lake. '

But Feifei and Tiantian were still a little worried, after all, this monster seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. And the speed of running towards them is getting faster and faster.

At this time, Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao and said, 'Dad, but are we a little dangerous in this place? I think we should go back to the spaceship! Anyway, the spaceship is not very far away from us! '

Zhao Zhongyao said,'It doesn't matter! Anyway, the spaceship is not very far away from us, if we feel danger, it will not be too late to run back into the spaceship. '

It’s just that she was a little worried every day, and she looked at Zhao Zhongyao again and said, ‘Dad, are you sure this monster won’t threaten our safety. '

Zhao Zhongyao said with a smile, "Of course, I dare say, it can't possibly threaten our safety." '

In fact, Zhao Zhongyao has already guessed what this monster is, but he hasn't told the truth to the two children yet.

Feifei and Tiantian were still worried whether this monster would come to the shore and attack them! But Zhao Zhongyao just stood boldly on the shore, waiting quietly for the monster to come to them.

Just as Zhao Zhongyao and Feifei were talking like this, this big snow monster ran only tens of meters away from them.

But when the big snow monster ran only tens of meters away from them, the big snow monster suddenly became smaller again. And it disappeared at an extremely fast speed.

This result made Feifei and Tiantian's eyes widen in surprise.

Originally, when Feifei and Tiantian saw the big snow monster running from the lake to the shore, and pounced on the three of them. The two of them were very scared, thinking that this big snow monster would jump on the shore and bite them.

But what Feifei and Tiantian never expected was that when this big snow monster ran to the shore, it didn't pounce on the shore, but disappeared very quickly. This is really weird.

'Dad, what's going on, that big snow monster! ’ Feifei was very puzzled looking at the place where the snow monster disappeared in the lake, he was very puzzled.

Tiantian also looked at his dad in puzzlement and asked, 'Dad, what's going on? That big snow monster just now was obviously going to jump on the shore! Why did it suddenly disappear. '

At this time, Zhao Zhongyao looked at the two children and said, "You two go to the lake to see what the big snow monster we saw just now is!" '

After hearing Zhao Zhongyao's words, Feifei and Tiantian glanced at each other. Then we walked towards the lake together. The two of them soon arrived at the place where the big snow monster disappeared just now.

When Feifei and Tiantian arrived at the place where the big snow monster disappeared, they both saw that the so-called big snow monster was just a pile of ice and snow. Not really a monster at all.

'ah! It turned out not to be a monster! ’ Feifei felt very strange.

'yes! This thing is not a monster, just some ice and snow. Then how could these ice and snow become monsters! ’ Looking at the pile of ice and snow in front of her every day, she was also very puzzled.

At this time, Zhao Zhongyao also came to the two children.

Feifei quickly looked at Zhao Zhongyao and asked,'Dad, so the monsters just now were ice and snow! This is strange, how these ice and snow turned into monsters. '

Tiantian also looked at Zhao Zhongyao puzzled and asked, Dad, please explain to us how these ice and snow-like things turned into monsters. '

After hearing what the two children said, Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said, 'If I guess correctly, this lake must be connected to some dark river. The phenomenon we saw just now is the phenomenon of underground river spewing. '

‘What, the dark river is gushing. Feifei and Tiantian felt very puzzled after hearing Zhao Zhongyao's words. They didn't understand what Zhao Zhongyao meant.

'That's right, the snow monster we saw just now is actually because there is a dark river under the lake connected to underground rivers in other places. When some underground river water suddenly flows into this lake, it will break the ice outside. In this way, an ice monster will be formed. 'Zhao Zhongyao looked at Feifei and Tiantian again and said.

After hearing what their father said, Feifei and Tiantian seemed to understand what was going on.

Feifei said, 'It turns out that the underground river is at work! '

Tiantian also said, 'Yes! We thought it was a monster! It turns out that the underground river is making waves here. '

‘Dad, are we still looking for amethyst gemstones here! Since there are no monsters here, then there are no amethyst gems. Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao again and said.

After hearing Feifei's words, Zhao Zhongyao thought for a while and said,'Yes, there are no monsters in this place. Then it is impossible to have any amethyst gems. We'll have to look elsewhere. '

'Then where shall we go? Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao and asked again.

Zhao Zhongyao looked around and said, There are many canyons and collisions in this place. We can't find amethyst gemstones in this impact crater, so let's go to other impact craters to see. '

'Okay, then let's go to another impact crater to have a look. Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao and said.

At this time every day, he also said, 'Well, let's take a spaceship and go to other impact craters to have a look. '

But at this moment, Zhao Zhongyao saw that in this collision

On the edge of the crater, there is a gap. This gap is very large, and I don't know what is outside the gap.

So, Zhao Zhongyao looked at the gap not far away and said, 'That's it, we don't need to take the spaceship anymore. Let's go outside that gap and have a look! '

After hearing what their father said, Feifei and Tiantian said, 'Okay then! Let's go to the outside of this gap first to see if there is also a huge impact crater. '

So, Zhao Zhongyao, Feifei and Tiantian walked together to the gap on the edge of the impact crater.

Soon, they came to this gap.

When they came to this gap, they saw that it was a terrain like a small canyon. And there are some twists and turns, and I don't know where the end of this small canyon is.

'Father, where does this little canyon lead to! ’ Feifei looked at the small canyon in front of him curiously and asked.

'I don't know, I think we might as well go inside and have a look. See where this canyon leads. Zhao Zhongyao said, looking at the canyon in front of him.

After hearing Zhao Zhongyao's words, Feifei and Tiantian nodded. The two of them are also willing to go to this small canyon to have a look.

'Okay, then let's go inside and have a look. ’ Feifei also said the same.

So, Zhao Zhongyao led the two children to this small canyon together.

They walked straight along this small canyon. Didn't feel anything special at first.

But the further they walked the canyon became bigger and bigger. Later, their eyes suddenly opened up.

The original small canyon suddenly turned into a huge canyon. This Grand Canyon is really huge. Not only can you not see the end at a glance, but the two sides are also very wide, and you can't see the sides.

'Dad, what is--what is this place? ’ Feifei looked at the Grand Canyon in front of him, and was also a little puzzled.

Tiantian also looked at Zhao Zhongyao very puzzled and asked, Dad, what is this place, why does it look so strange! '

At this time, Zhao Zhongyao said,'This is not an impact crater, this is a grand canyon. '

After hearing what Zhao Zhongyao said, Feifei smiled and said, 'Dad, have we reached the Great Rift Valley of East Africa! I don't know if the East African Rift Valley on our planet is as big as this one. '

After hearing Feifei's words, Zhao Zhongyao smiled and said, 'Of course this Grand Canyon is bigger than the East African Rift Valley on our planet. '

‘Dad, do you know anything about the Great Rift Valley in East Africa! Tell us about this knowledge too! ’ Feifei suddenly became interested in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa.

'yes! Dad, tell us something about the Great Rift Valley! Tiantian also looked at Zhao Zhongyao and said.

‘Okay, let me tell you something about the Great Rift Valley! Zhao Zhongyao looked at the two children again and said.

The Great Rift Valley in East Africa is the largest fault zone on the world continent, and it looks like a huge scar from satellite photos. The Great Rift Valley in East Africa is known as the "Scar on the Earth". This rift belt is located in eastern Africa, starting from the lower valley of the Zambezi River in the south, passing through the Shire Valley in the north to the north of Lake Malawi (Niasa Lake), and is divided into two branches.

The entire shape of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa can be drawn as an irregular triangle. The valley is tens to 200 kilometers wide and up to 1.5 meters deep. The central part of the East African plateau and the central part of the Ethiopian plateau go directly to the northern end of the Red Sea, with a total length of about 5,800 kilometers.

The western branch starts from the northwest end of Lake Malawi in the south, passes through Lake Tanganyika, Lake Kivu, Lake Mobutu, etc., to the White Nile Valley in Sudan, with a total length of more than 1,700 kilometers and is the longest discontinuous valley in the world. , named by explorer John Walter Gugley.

If the detailed geographical location of the East African Rift Valley is described by three points of a triangle, the south point is at the mouth of Mozambique, the northwest point is as far as the Jordan River in Sudan, and the north point can enter the Dead Sea. There are quite a few lakes and volcanoes in the middle. This Great Rift Valley is a natural reservoir that gathers most of the lakes in Africa, with a total of more than 30.

According to the investigation and research of geologists, because this place is at the junction of the African plate and the Indian Ocean plate, about 30 million years ago, due to the stretching and stretching of the two plates, this rift was formed by the continental drift that separated from the ancient Arabian landmass. valley.

At that time, the crust in this area was in a period of great movement, and the whole area was uplifted, and the mantle material under the crust rose and shunted, generating huge tension. It was under the action of this tension that the crust broke, and A rift is formed.

Due to the continuous uplift movement, the crustal fractures are continuously generated, and the underground lava is continuously gushing out, gradually forming a tall lava plateau. The volcanoes on the plateau became numerous mountain peaks, while the fractured subsidence zone became the bottom of the Great Rift Valley, with a total length of 6,400 kilometers.

The subsidence of the East African Rift Valley began in the Oligocene, the main fault movement occurred in the Miocene, and the period of large dislocation continued from the Pliocene to the Quaternary. The northern section formed the Red Sea, separating the Arabian Peninsula from the African continent; Madagascar was also separated from the African continent by the expansion of several active rift valleys.

At the bottom of the rift valley is an open field, more than 20 long and narrow lakes, like a string of crystal sapphires, scattered in the valley. Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru in the middle are habitats for birds and other animals, and are also important tourist areas and wildlife sanctuaries in Ken. Among them, Lake Naivasha is 1,900 meters above sea level and is the highest lake in the rift valley. . Trona is produced in Lake Magadi in the south, which is an important mine in Kenya

production resources. Lake Turkana in the north is one of the birthplaces of human beings, where ancient human skull fossils were discovered 2.6 million years ago.

The Great Rift Valley of East Africa is also a huge natural reservoir. Most of the lakes in Africa are concentrated here. There are about 30 large and small lakes, such as Lake Abe, Lake Sala, Lake Turkana, Lake Magadi, ( Located on the plateau between the east and west rift belts) Lake Victoria, Lake Kioga, etc., are lakes formed by local depression of the land, and the lake water is relatively shallow. The former is the largest lake in Africa.

Lake Malawi (the length is equivalent to 7 times its maximum width, the deepest is 706 meters, second only to Russia's Lake Baikal, the fourth deepest lake in the world), Lake Tanganyika (the length is equivalent to 10.3 times its maximum width , the deepest reaches 1470 meters, which is the deepest lake in Africa and the second deepest lake in the world) and Turkana.

The northern part of Kenya is an endless desert. Due to the drought and desolation, there are few people. There are almost no crops, but some thorns and bushes are sparsely distributed. The local residents are mainly nomadic or semi-nomadic.

However, when you fly over this land by plane, looking down from the window, it seems that there is a huge and beautiful crystal bead jumping in the wilderness. This is the famous inland lake in Africa-Lake Turkana, and Name Jasper Lake. Lake Turkana used to be called "Lake Ludolf", and Ludolf was the name of the Austrian prince. In 1975, it was changed to the name of the Turkana tribe of the Maasai people on the west bank of the lake.

Lake Turkana is also one of many lakes along the East African Rift Belt. The lake area is in a strip shape, extending 256 kilometers from north to south, and reaching the border of Ethiopia in the north. It is 1,000 kilometers wide from east to west, covering an area of ​​more than 6,400 square kilometers. Hunan is 375 meters above sea level. It is not only the largest lake in Kenya, but also the largest in the world. One of the saltwater lakes.

Since Lake Turkana is located in an arid area, the water source is insufficient, and the erosion around the lake basin is relatively weak, so it still remains in an isolated state today. Since the lake water cannot flow out, a huge alkaline water lake has been formed. The lake water has an obvious greasy feeling and shows strong decontamination ability.

In fact, in that long time ago, Lake Turkana was once connected with the Nile River, but it was only because of the subsequent crustal movement that they gradually lost contact with each other. Today's Lake Turkana, its southern part is a deep water area, the deepest can reach about 120 meters.

In the center of the lake, there are three small islands juxtaposed in the south, north, and middle. The islands are covered with green grass. The water of Lake Turkana is green and cool. It is very interesting that, except for the high salinity of the lake in the south, various salts can be extracted, the lake water in other shallow water areas is only slightly salty and can still be drunk.

Especially the aquatic products in the lake area are extremely rich, there are many kinds of fish, and the fish are relatively large. Some fish are about several meters long and weigh more than a hundred catties. In particular, the lake is rich in carp, which are large in number and can overturn wooden boats in the lake when they are angry.

Since Lake Turkana was formed by the collapse of a fault, many volcanoes stand around the lake area. These long-extinguished "extinct volcanoes" are like huge cones standing proudly on the East African plateau, which is particularly spectacular and eye-catching. Due to the many eruptions of these volcanoes in the past, the volcanic weathering has formed a thick layer of dark brown soil, which is very fertile and the climate is hot and humid, which is very suitable for the growth of various plants.

There are dense trees and pastures growing on the mountainside of the volcano and the lakeside area. There are green banana and plantain bushes, fresh green vine frames, huge mango trees, coconut trees, palm trees, etc., all over the mountains and plains.

Groups of antelopes, zebras, wild deer and other animals live in the trees and grass. During the day, the surrounding area of ​​the lake is silent; at dusk, the antelopes come out of the grass one after another, and the zebras chasing and neighing come to the lake to drink water, and the lake suddenly becomes lively.

Lake Turkana has been inhabited by humans a long time ago and is one of the birthplaces of human beings. Since 1967, archaeologists have continuously discovered a large number of ancient human fossils, Paleolithic tools and mammal fossils in the Cooper Fowler area on the east coast of the Lake District. Among them, the age of the stone tools is as far as more than 2 million years ago.

The Turkana Lakeside area has always been the activity area of ​​the famous nomadic people in Africa - the Maasai people. The residents of this people are brave and tenacious, simple and honest, and they still maintain many fascinating traditional customs.

Zhao Zhongyao told the two children something about the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. After listening to Feifei and Tiantian, they felt that they had gained a lot of knowledge about geography.

Feifei looked at Zhao Zhongyao curiously and said, "Dad, so the East African Rift Valley is a huge belt of life!" In the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, there are so many lives. '

After listening to Feifei’s words every day, he also said curiously, ‘The Great Rift Valley of East Africa not only has many miraculous lives, but also many miraculous primitive tribes. It’s really a good place for travel and adventure. '

At this time, Feifei looked at the Grand Canyon in front of him again and said, 'Dad, I don't know if there is life in this Grand Canyon of Tianweisan. '