Mid-Atlantic Ridge

geology · ocean floor · plate tectonics · underwater mountains

Longest mountain range. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is part of the longest mountain range on Earth, but most of it is hidden underwater on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Plates pulling apart. The ridge marks where Earth's tectonic plates are moving away from each other at about 2.5 centimeters per year, which is about as fast as your fingernails grow.

Pokes above water. While the ridge is mostly underwater, parts of it rise high enough to break the surface, like Iceland, which is a visible chunk of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Separates continents. In the North Atlantic, the ridge separates North America and Europe, while in the South Atlantic it separates Africa from South America.

New ocean floor forms. As the plates spread apart, hot magma rises up from deep inside Earth to fill the gap, creating brand new ocean floor that slowly pushes the continents farther apart.