The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (16 letters) is a lulu (learned this word from seeing it in endless crosswords) of a divergent boundary. A divergent boundary is when two plates get pushed apart from each other. Most divergent boundaries (like this one) are underwater and contain rift valleys. In a divergent boundary, magma is forced through these rift valley divisions between plates. The magma then cools and hardens until it is very firm. This new land forces everything else to move. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge has had a lot of volcanic activity and earthquakes--it spreads about 2.5 centimeters per year! Recently (just this March 22nd) there was an earthquake there with a Richter Scale rating of 6.0! Luckily, the earthquake didn't appear to do much damage because it was in the middle of the Southern Atlantic! Here is a picture of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge--it actually runs through Iceland on land! [http://www.flickr.com/photos/albaret-boit/176502393/]
Your post is so informative and to the point! The picture is awesome.
ReplyDeleteCool picture and interesting facts :)
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