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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.
- 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...
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which stretches for thousands of miles in the Atlantic Ocean, is the longest mountain chain on Earth. Understanding the geologic processes at the ridge, mapped here using satellite data, was crucial as scientists developed the theory of plate tectonics.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mountain range running mostly underwater and generally north-south through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. If it were all above water, the ridge would be commonly regarded, at 16,000 km, as the world's longest near-continuous mountain span under one name.
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Where is the Mid Atlantic Ridge located?
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Between Iceland and Scotland, this ridge is known as the Wiley Thompson ridge and forms the boundary between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. South of the continental shelf of GREENLAND and Iceland, the ridge widens near about 55 degrees N, where the depth of water is between 7,000 and 10,500 ft (2,000 and 3,000 m).
