 As the African Plate moves slowly north-northeastward, it is plowing up the igneous and sedimentary rocks of the Mediterranean seafloor, lifting them from the seabed and creating Cyprus and other islands along the ridge.Along the ridge, five deep basins full of anoxic brine have been found, where Messinian evaporite deposits of brine caught up in this ongoing orogeny have dissolved.In the far future, it could grow into a long high mountain range if the continued northward movement of Africa obliterates the east part of the Mediterranean Sea.