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.

---

Example Sentences

Iceland has 33 active volcano systems and sits over what's known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the boundary between two of the largest tectonic plates on the planet.

From BBC • Feb. 8, 2024

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

Separately, one of the largest private research vessels set out last week on its inaugural expedition, to explore microbes in seafloor hydrothermal vents at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 8, 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