[1] It is part of the Central African Shear Zone (CASZ) and dates to at least 640 million years ago.
The zone was rejuvenated several times, usually with a dextral movement, before and during the opening of the South Atlantic in the Cretaceous period.
Based on reconstruction of the configuration of South America before it separated from Africa, the zone can be identified with the Pernambuco fault.
[3] The shear zone underlies a chain of active volcanoes, called the Cameroon Volcanic Line.
In August 1986 a magnitude 5 earthquake with epicenter near Lake Nyos indicated that the shear zone may be again reactivating.