[4] The alps are asymmetric in cross-section with a comparatively gentle rift escarpment facing the Red Sea and intense normal faulting on the inland side.
[8] The Antalo Limestone in the Danakil Alps is unusually thick for the Horn of Africa, being at least 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in depth,[9] implying that the area acted as a drainage basin before the uplift and break up of the Afro-Arabian continent.
[10] The pre-rift stratigraphic section in the Danakil Alps exceeds 4,000 metres (13,000 ft), greater than that to the north, reflecting the development of the Indian Ocean margin during the Mesozoic.
[10] Paleomagnetic measurements indicate that, beginning in the early Miocene, the alps rotated counterclockwise by 20–30 degrees[12] from their original position over a period of 11 million years[13] as a result of the opening of the Red Sea.
This active plate boundary continues along the west side of the Danakil Block, and links to the Red Sea at the Gulf of Zula.