rift valley

noun

|Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of rift valley

: an elongated valley formed by the depression of a block of the earth's crust between two faults or groups of faults of approximately parallel orientation

See rift valley defined for English-language learners

See rift valley defined for kids

Recent Examples of rift valley from the Web

This process is accompanied by surface manifestations along the rift valley in the form of volcanism and seismic activity.

— lucia perez diaz, CNN, "Big crack evidence East Africa could be splitting in two," 5 Apr. 2018
The East African Rift has several rift valleys that can be seen from space.

— laura geggel, Washington Post, "A huge crack provides evidence that Africa is slowly splitting into two," 7 Apr. 2018
The East African Rift is one of the world’s largest rift valleys, about 3,700 miles in length and 30 to 40 miles across.

— amy yee, New York Times, "Geothermal Energy Grows in Kenya," 23 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rift valley.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.