WAEC - Geography (2023 - No. 32)

A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault. This process of valley formation is known as parallel faulting. A rift valley is formed on a divergent plate boundary, a crustal extension, a spreading apart of the surface, which is subsequently further deepened by the forces of erosion. When the tensional forces are strong enough to cause a plate to split apart, it does so along a rift zone.