DIVERGENT
PLATE
BOUNDARY
DIVERGENT PLATE
BOUNDARIES…
-A linear feature that exists between
two tectonic plates that are moving
away from each other.
-Also known as a constructive
boundary or an extensional
boundary)
At divergent boundaries, two plates move
apart from each other and the space that
this creates is filled with new crustal
material sourced from molten magma that
forms below.
The origin of new divergent boundaries
at triple junctions is sometimes thought to
be associated with the phenomenon
known as hotspots and convection
currents.
LET’S DEFINE….
HOT SPOTS
In geology, the places known as hot
spots are volcanic regions thought to be fed by
underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the
surrounding mantle.
CONVECTION CURRENTS
A current in a fluid that results from convection.
Convection is the movement of groups
of molecules within fluids such as gases and liquids, including
molten rock
WHAT ARE THE 2 TYPES OF
DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY?
1. Two oceanic plates splitting apart
2. Two continental plates separate
TWO OCEANIC PLATES SPLITTING APART
What happens when 2 Oceanic
Plates separate?
Formation of ridges
Ridges (deep oceanic ridges) Underwater mountain
ranges where crust is spreading apart creating new
ocean floor.
In a deep Oceanic Ridges where two oceanic plates
pull apart from each other, magma rises & cools
creating new seafloor.
Ex: Mid-Atlantic Ridge
MID-OCEAN RIDGES
When a divergent boundary occurs beneath
oceanic lithosphere, the rising convection
current below lifts the lithosphere producing a
mid-ocean ridge.
As a consequence - or as the cause hot mantle
material from the asthenosphere wells upward
underneath.
EFFECTS THAT ARE FOUND AT A
DIVERGENT BOUNDARY BETWEEN
OCEANIC PLATES INCLUDE:
submarine mountain range such as
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
volcanic activity in the form of
fissure eruptions
shallow earthquake activity;
creation of new seafloor and a
widening ocean basin.
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
A process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges,
where new oceanic crust is formed
through volcanic activity and then gradually
moves away from the ridge.
TWO CONTINENTAL PLATES
SPLITTING APART
What happens when 2
Continental Plates separate?
Formation of Rifts
Continental Rifting is the process that
causes continental crust to extend and
thin.
Rift Valley is a deep valley formed on land
where two plates move apart and magma
rises to Earth's surface
When a divergent boundary occurs beneath a
thick continental plate, the pull-apart is not
vigorous enough to create a clean, single break
through the thick plate material.
The thick continental plate is arched upwards
from the convection current's lift, pulled thin by
extensional forces, and fractured into a rift-
shaped structure.
Early in the rift-forming process, streams
and rivers will flow into the sinking rift
valley to form a long linear lake.
As the rift grows deeper it might drop
below sea level allowing ocean waters to
flow in. This will produce a narrow,
shallow sea within the rift.
This rift can then grow deeper and wider.
If rifting continues a new ocean basin
could be produced.
EXAMPLES
The East Africa Rift Valley is a
classic example of this type of
plate boundary.
The Red Sea is an example of a
more completely developed rift.
EFFECTS THAT ARE FOUND AT THIS
TYPE OF PLATE BOUNDARY INCLUDE:
rift valley sometimes occupied by a long
linear lakes or a shallow arm of the ocean
numerous normal faults bounding a
central rift valley
shallow earthquake activity along the
normal faults
Volcanic activity sometimes occurs
within the rift.
RIDGES VS. RIFTS
If the boundary is found between
two continental plates you are left
with a rift valley
If two oceanic plates begin moving
away from each other it creates a
mid-oceanic ridge.
