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How fast is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge moving apart?

How fast is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge moving apart?

2 to 5 cm per year
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs down the center of the Atlantic Ocean. It spread apart at rates of 2 to 5 cm per year, and at these relatively slow spreading rates, the ridge has a deep rift valley along its crest. The rift valley is 1 to 3 km deep, about the depth and width of the Grand Canyon.

How fast is the North American Plate moving away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

per year
Plate motion For the most part, the North American Plate moves in roughly a southwest direction away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at a rate of about 2.3 centimeters (~1 inch) per year. At the same time, the Pacific Plate is moving to the northwest at a speed of between 7 and 11 centimeters (~3-4 inches) a year.

How far does the Mid-Atlantic Ridge move?

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is in effect an immensely long mountain chain extending for about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in a curving path from the Arctic Ocean to near the southern tip of Africa.

What is happening to the plates at the 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.

Which two tectonic plates are separated by a mid-ocean ridge?

Seafloor spreading occurs along mid-ocean ridges—large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, for instance, separates the North American plate from the Eurasian plate, and the South American plate from the African plate.

What plates does the Mid-Atlantic Ridge separate?

The MAR separates the North American Plate from the Eurasian Plate in the North Atlantic, and the South American Plate from the African Plate in the South Atlantic. These plates are still moving apart, so the Atlantic is growing at the ridge, at a rate of about 2.5 cm per year in an east-west direction.

How are the plates moving relative to each other at the Mid-Ocean Ridge?

11. How are the plates moving relative to each other at the Mid-Ocean Ridge? They are moving away from each other.

What type of plate movement or boundary is happening in the Mid-Atlantic ridges?

A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth’s mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of divergent plate boundaries.

What type of plate movement or boundary is happening in the Mid-Atlantic?

Description: 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.

How is the Atlantic moving at the Mid Atlantic Ridge?

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The MAR separates the North American Plate from the Eurasian Plate in the North Atlantic, and the South American Plate from the African Plate in the South Atlantic. These plates are still moving apart, so the Atlantic is growing at the ridge, at a rate of about 2.5 cm per year in an east-west direction.

Where are the North American and Eurasian plates moving?

The North American and Eurasian Plates are moving away from each other along the line of the Mid Atlantic Ridge.

How are volcanoes formed in the Mid Atlantic Ridge?

Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This produces basaltic volcanoes when an eruption occurs above the surface ( Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland) and characteristic basalt “ pillow lava ” in underwater eruptions. In this way, as the plates move further apart new ocean lithosphere is formed at the ridge and the ocean basin gets wider.

What happens to the ocean floor as the plates move?

In this way, as the plates move further apart new ocean lithosphere is formed at the ridge and the ocean basin gets wider. This process is known as “ sea floor spreading ” and results in a symmetrical alignment of the rocks of the ocean floor which get older with distance from the ridge crest.