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Mid-Atlantic Ridge, submarine ridge lying along the north-south axis of the Atlantic Ocean; it occupies the central part of the basin between a series of flat abyssal plains that continue to the margins of the continental coasts. Learn more about the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
A bathymetric map of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (shown in light blue in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean) The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a divergent or constructive plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world.
Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The North American and Eurasian Plates are moving away from each other along the line of the Mid Atlantic Ridge. The Ridge extends into the South Atlantic Ocean between the South American and African Plates. The ocean ridge rises to between 2 to 3 km above the ocean floor, and has a rift valley at its crest marking the ...
- Description
- Notable Features
- History of Exploration
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) is known as a mid-ocean ridge, an underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It is the result of a divergent plate boundary that runs from 87° N – about 333 km (207 mi) south of the North Pole – to 54 °S, just north of the coast of Antarctica. Like other ocean ridge systems, the MAR developed as a consequence...
As noted, the ridge (while mainly underwater) does have islands and island groups that were created by volcanic activity. In the Northern Hemisphere, these include Jan Mayen Island and Iceland (Norway), and the Azores (Portugal). In the Southern Hemisphere, MAR features include Ascension Island, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island (all UK te...
The ridge was initially discovered in 1872 during the expedition of the HMS Challenger. In the course of investigating the Atlantic for the sake of laying the transatlantic telegraph cable, the crew discovered a large rise in the middle of the ocean floor. By 1925, its existence was confirmed thanks to the invention of sonar. By the 1960s, scientis...
All of the plate boundaries that occur down the center of the Atlantic Ocean are divergent boundaries that follow the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Map showing the geographic location of major ocean trenches in the Pacific Ocean.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which splits nearly the entire Atlantic Ocean north to south, is probably the best-known and most-studied example of a divergent-plate boundary. (Illustration adapted from the map This Dynamic Planet.)
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Where is the Mid Atlantic Ridge located?
Which plate boundaries follow the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
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How deep is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
Which tectonic plate divides the North Atlantic Ridge from the South Atlantic?
How did the Mid-Atlantic Ridge form?
Mid-Atlantic Ridge Plate Boundary Line. What locations might we find good evidence of what is occurring at the ridge?
