Journal Article Review #2
Carolyn Elizabeth Zaborowski
PHSC 210-B07 201530 Summer 2015
Thomas Breuner
June 14, 2015
“East Africa's Great Rift Valley: A Complex Rift System”
By: James Wood and Alex Guth - Michigan Technological University
Introduction
The article “East Africa’s Great Rift Valley: A Complex Rift System” by James Wood and Alex Guth is basically another theory that the two Michigan Tech affiliates believe the East African Rift Valley was created. They explain their theory from an Old-Earth viewpoint as it was believed to have originated billions of years ago. According to the article, the East African Rift System is one of the most majestic and the geologic wonders of the world. (Wood and Guth 2005-2015)
Brief Overview and Main Points In this article James Wood and Alex Guth describe visually the area along the rifts in East Africa. They also give the readers a detailed explanation of how the rifts were formed in theory. Based on what they have studied James Wood and Alex Guth, try convincing the readers that the world had evolved billions of years ago and how humans were present and their part in formation during the process. Mentioning the ongoing debate about evolution and what they perceive as the time frame this process took place.
Article Strengths One of the strengths this article includes were the very informative and detailed colored maps seen to assist the reader in visualizing the East Africa area, which helps with understanding exactly how the rift looks. The two authors go into great depth describing this area, the surrounding geographic features, and their theory of how they feel the rifts were formed. Despite the authors own thoughts and theories, they make it clear that the exact reasoning for the east African Rift is still unknown. Another great strength I saw in this article was that James Wood and Alex Guth provided the reader with vivid complex details of their particular theory of the Rift formation. They were able to provide information to “back their beliefs up,” which draws the reader in a bit more to understand the process itself. The authors also appeared very knowledgeable when explaining in great detail how rifts are formed and do a good job explaining the “geological” processes in a way so that the reader may become more interested in the material at hand.
Article Weaknesses One of the very first thing that shouted out as a weakness in the article were all the grammatical errors. Spelling and grammar errors such as this should have been corrected long before the publication. Alongside the tremendous spelling and grammatical errors, there were just a few more weaknesses noticed in the article. Though the authors did “press” their theories on the reader, they did not make a concise effort regarding the specific cause of the East Africa Rift. Even though the talk of their beliefs and theories are considered one of the articles strengths it also is one of their weaknesses. Meaning that the reader is finished reading the article with somewhat of the understanding about the rift formation, but still in question because of the “great debate.” The reader is not really educated on the East Africa Rift from a scientific point of view, rather a theoretic point of view.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The East African Rift System is a complicated system of rift segments which provide a modern analog to help us understand how continents break apart. It is also a great example of how many natural systems can be intertwined. (Wood and Guth 2005-2015) With all the unique geological conditions it has changed the local climate, which in turn has forced our ancestors to acquire the skills of bipedalism, to develop a culture and to think about how it could appear such a rift. As well as the Grand Canyon of the East African rift system should be among the first in the list of geological wonders that are a must visit every geologist. (Wood and Guth 2005-2015)
James Wood and Alex Guth definitely got their major points across, providing the appropriate information. Having a better understanding, even though it is still theoretical, was achieved in the article. Learning more detailed information of exactly how our world was created always makes for an interesting read.

Reference
Wood, J., & Guth, A. (2005). East Africa’s Great Rift Valley: A Complex Rift System. Retrieved 2005, from http://geology.com/articles/east-africa-rift.shtml.