A gravity link between the domally uplifted Cainozoic volcanic centres of North Africa and its similarity to the East African Rift System anomaly

Attention is drawn to the existence of a negative gravity lineament linking the domally uplifted Cainozoic volcanic centres of North and West Africa to the negative Bouguer anomaly associated with the East African Rift System. The gravity lineament is shown to have similar dimensions to the Rift System anomaly and is interpreted as resulting from attenuation of the continental lithosphere. As such the lineament may represent an earlier stage than the East African Rift System in the processes that could eventually lead to continental disruption.