ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

The Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley is a place on Earth where the ground has a really big crack in it that goes for thousands of miles. It's kind of like a long scar on the Earth's surface. This big crack was formed a long, long time ago, millions of years ago, when the Earth's crust shifted and moved around.

You know how sometimes when you put your foot on the ground and it feels like it's moving and shaking? Well, that's what was happening to the earth's surface many years ago. This movement caused the ground to crack open like a big rip in the ground. The Great Rift Valley is this big rip in the earth's surface that goes through parts of Africa, from northern Syria all the way down to Mozambique at the southern tip of Africa.

The valley is really special because it's home to some amazing animals like lions, zebras, and giraffes, and it's also been an important place for humans for a long time. Some of the oldest human bones and tools have been found here, and people have been living and farming in the valley for many, many years.

So the Great Rift Valley is basically a really long crack in the ground that millions of years ago was formed by movements of the earth's crust, and today it's a really special place for animals and people alike.