Here's something that is sure to get map makers of the Red Sea fits – a brand new island. The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite captured the birthday of the island as it was created from volcanic activity. The image was snagged on December 23, 2011.
The new island is in the Zubair Group off the coast of Yemen. Fishermen reported seeing lava fountains arching up to 90 feet in the air during the volcanic activity. No word yet on an official name for the new spot in the sun, but I hear it is the real hotspot for scientific tourism (pun intended).
via physorg
Red Sea Rift
The Red Sea Rift is a spreading center between two tectonic plates, the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It extends down the length of the Red Sea, stretching from the southern end of the Dead Sea Transform to a triple junction with the Aden Ridge and the East African Rift (the Afar Triple Junction) in the Afar Depression of eastern Africa.
source:wikipedia
