Mid-Atlantic Ridge

American  

[mid-at-lan-tik, mid-at-lan-] / ˈmɪd ætˈlæn tɪk, ˌmɪd ætˈlæn- /

noun

1. a north-south suboceanic ridge in the Atlantic Ocean from Iceland to Antarctica on whose crest are several groups of islands; shown by plate tectonics to be the axis along which North America has split away from Eurasia, and along which South America has split away from Africa.

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Example Sentences

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Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Iceland is very used to volcanic activity because it sits over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2023

It sits atop the continually spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American plate to the west and the Eurasian plate to the east are gradually pulling apart.

From National Geographic ● Jul. 24, 2023

And on Iceland, which straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Moretti and her colleagues have recorded comparable hydrogen flows at some of the hot springs and geothermal wells that dot the country.

From Science Magazine ● Feb. 15, 2023

Volcanoes are a fact of life in Iceland, a country that sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, caused by the separation of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 4, 2022

Similar openings on the sea floor were first spotted 18 years ago along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2022