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In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which eventually become rift valleys.
This paradoxically results in divergence which was only incorporated in the theory of plate tectonics in 1970, but still results in net destruction when summed over major plate boundaries. [2] Divergent boundaries are areas where plates move away from each other, forming either mid-ocean ridges or rift valleys. These are also known as ...
Three types of plate boundaries exist, [16] characterized by the way the plates move relative to each other. They are associated with different types of surface phenomena. The different types of plate boundaries are: [17] [18] Divergent boundary. Divergent boundaries (constructive boundaries or extensional boundaries). These are where two ...
Map showing Earth's principal tectonic plates and their boundaries in detail. These plates comprise the bulk of the continents and the Pacific Ocean.For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20 million km 2 (7.7 million sq mi)
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. In the North Atlantic, the ridge separates the North American from the Eurasian plate and the African plate, north and south of the Azores triple junction.
Map showing the divergent plate boundaries (oceanic spreading ridges) and recent sub-aerial volcanoes (mostly at convergent boundaries) According to the theory of plate tectonics, Earth's lithosphere , its rigid outer shell, is broken into sixteen larger and several smaller plates.
Mid-ocean ridges are divergent plate boundaries. As the plates on either side of an offset mid-ocean ridge move, a transform fault forms at the offset between the two ridges. [2] Fracture zones and the transform faults that form them are separate but related features.
There are three types of plate boundaries to consider in the context of interplate earthquake events: [4] Transform fault: Where two boundaries slide laterally relative to each other. Divergent boundary: Where two boundaries move apart. Convergent boundary: Where one plate moves towards, and potentially subducts beneath, another plate.