This map was created by Marco Hernández in 2025 as part of the initiative #30DayMapChallenge.
The Afar Triangle, also known as the Afar Depression, is the region of the Horn of Africa where the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden ridges meet the Great Rift Valley. These two ridges and the Rift Valley in turn divide three tectonic plates. Between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden lies the Arabian Plate; between the Red Sea and the Rift Valley lies the Nubian subplate (part of the African Plate), and between the Gulf of Aden and the Rift Valley lies the Somali subplate (part of the African Plate). The three plates are moving apart, which explains the high level of volcanism and tectonic activity in the region.
The map shows all the volcanic rocks in the region in yellow, as well as three dotted lines representing the division between the tectonic plates. The arrows indicate the speed and direction in which the different plates are moving annually (in millimetres per year).
You can find more information about the initiative here. #30DayMapChallenge in what I wrote in the newsletter.
Sources
Español 
English (UK)