Kenya's seismic and volcanic activity is driven by the East African Rift, where the African continent is slowly splitting apart into the Nubian and Somali plates. The rift cuts through the country from north to south, thinning the crust and allowing magma to rise, which produces both frequent small earthquakes and a striking chain of volcanoes along the Rift Valley floor.
Kenya hosts several notable volcanoes, including the calderas of Menengai and Suswa and the active carbonatite volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai just across the border in Tanzania. While large destructive earthquakes are rarer here than in subduction zones, the ongoing rifting powers extensive geothermal energy fields around Lake Naivasha and shapes the dramatic Rift Valley landscape.