Mid-ocean ridges occur along divergent plate boundaries , where new ocean floor is created as the Earth's tectonic plates spread apart. As the plates separate, molten rock rises to the seafloor, producing enormous volcanic eruptions of basalt.
Where is a mid-ocean ridge?
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.
What is a mid-ocean ridge kid definition?
The mid-ocean ridge is formed where two tectonic plates meet under the ocean . This divergent boundary creates mountains, valleys like the famous rift valley, volcanoes, and sometimes earthquakes. It stretches all around the Earth, is home to many strange animals, and still has a lot to be explored.
What is the meaning of ocean ridges?
noun. any section of the narrow, largely continuous range of submarine mountains that extends into all the major oceans and at which new oceanic lithosphere is created by the rise of magma from the earth's interiorSee also sea-floor spreading.
What is a Mid Oceanic Ridge example?
Mid-ocean ridges form where two tectonic plates are pulling apart, also called seafloor spreading. ... The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is spreading one to two inches a year, along with the East Pacific Rise, which is spreading two to six inches a year, are two examples of very long mid-ocean ridges.
What is a mid-ocean ridge in your own words?
A mid-ocean ridge or mid-oceanic ridge is an underwater mountain range, formed by plate tectonics . This uplifting of the ocean floor occurs when convection currents rise in the mantle beneath the oceanic crust and create magma where two tectonic plates meet at a divergent boundary.
What are 5 facts about the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the longest mountain chain on Earth . It runs along the Atlantic Ocean floor from North America to beyond the southern tip of Africa. It rises 6,000–13,000ft (2,000–4,000m) above the sea floor, and runs for 10,000 miles (16,000km). Beneath the ridge is a place of great volcanic activity.
What can you find in mid-ocean ridge?
Mid-ocean ridges occur along divergent plate boundaries, where new ocean floor is created as the Earth's tectonic plates spread apart. As the plates separate, molten rock rises to the seafloor, producing enormous volcanic eruptions of basalt .
What occurs at the center of a mid-ocean ridge?
The vast majority of volcanic activity on the planet occurs along the mid-ocean ridge, and it is the place where the crust of the Earth is born. The material that erupts at spreading centers along the mid-ocean ridge is primarily basalt, the most common rock on Earth.
Are there volcanoes at mid ocean ridges?
Mid-ocean ridges. The global mid-ocean ridge system is the largest single volcanic feature on the Earth, encircling it like the seams of a baseball. ... The mid-ocean ridge consists of thousands of individual volcanoes or volcanic ridge segments which periodically erupt.
How do you use mid-ocean ridge in a sentence?
The mid-ocean ridge is two chains of mountains separated by a large depression that form at a spreading center. Sitting astride the mid-ocean ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean, Iceland is volcanically one of the most dynamic parts of the Earth's surface .
What is the same meaning of Ridge?
ridge Add to list Share. A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated strip of land or any raised strip or band . ... From the Old English hrycg, meaning “back of the man or beast” or “the top or crest” of something (combined, the senses mean “backbone”), ridge is often used for the beam that joins the parts of a sloping roof.
Which is the deepest ocean in the world?
| Name | Challenger Deep | Approx depth in metres | 10 924 | Ocean | Pacific | Trench | Mariana | Location | 11.369°N/142.587°E |
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What are the five example of ocean ridges?
This ridge system includes the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge, Carlsberg Ridge, Pacific-Antarctic Ridge , and the East Pacific Rise with its related features, including the Chile Rise, Galapagos Rift Zone, Gorda Rise, and Juan de Fuca Ridge.
What is an example of a ridge?
The definition of a ridge is a long, narrow crest of something. An example of a ridge is the strip of mountains in the Southeast area of Mt. Everest from Nepal . An example of a ridge is along an animal's backbone.
What is the biggest mid-ocean ridge?
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.
