Quakes cause 50-meter-deep valley on farmland in Türkiye's Hatay

The devastating twin earthquakes in Türkiye, dubbed the "disaster of the century," created many rifts and valleys – one of which is a 50-meter-deep valley in an olive grove in Hatay, another are rifts on the banks of the river that was the main water supply to where civilization began, the Euphrates.

A huge rift was formed due to the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes in the Altınözü district of Hatay, southeastern Türkiye, Feb. 24, 2023.

A 200-meter-wide, 400-meter-long and 50-meter-deep cleft was formed in the 12-decare olive grove of Ömer Aksu. The area now resembles a valley and is visited by local and foreign scientists, as well as those who are curious about the destruction caused by the earthquake.

The new valley.

Ömer Aksu standing in front of the newly formed valley within his olive grove.

Curious locals standing next to the newly-formed cleft.

As a result of earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, fissures formed on the banks of the Euphrates in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa, southeastern Türkiye, Feb. 24, 2023.

Fissures on the banks of the historic river that fed the area of the world where civilization was formed.