The White Nile rift is one of several rifts in central Sudan running in a NW direction and terminating in the Central African Shear Zone.The rift is a Cretaceous/Tertiary structure that has similar tectonic characteristics to the Southern Sudan Rift, Blue Nile rift and Atbara rift.[1] These rifts follow similar trends, and terminate in a line at their northwestern ends.Probably this line is an extension of the Central African Shear Zone through the Sudan.[2]
The rift basin is formed by the junction of the Umm Rubaba grabens, which extends in a NW direction, and the White Nile graben, which extends in a N to NW direction.[3] The basin is filled with sediments and igneous rocks, and is a target for oil and gas exploration.[4] The rift basins appear to be hydrologically closed, with no lateral transfer of water.[5] One theory is that the current White Nile may have developed no more than 12,500 years ago when the basins filled and the rivers became connected.[6]