| Summary/Abstract |
Usually when the massive plates that float over the Earth’s molten core collide, the intense pressure over millions of years pushes the land upward. It is this force that has created some of the world’s most breathtaking mountain ranges. About 80 million years ago, for some reason, when the Asian plates encountered the African and European plates this wasn’t the case. Instead of the earth lurching upwards towards the sun, the plates separated, creating the volatile Syrian East African Rift Valley: A valley that includes the world’s lowest point — the Dead Sea — 427 meters below sea level.
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